In Your Wedding Dress
by Fellinlovetoday
Summary: Over the past five years, they've all moved on. With jobs, with school, and especially with relationships. Robin has never been able to forget about Starfire. It may be too late for action considering her wedding day approaches. Rob/Star. Some BB/Rae.
1. Prologue

Hey guys! I'm back with a whole new story. I'm excited about this one, I thought about it last night and couldn't wait to type it up and see what you guys think. I just finished up "**Desperate Teen Titan Kingdom of Love"** (for now) and that was a short 7 chapter story and my very first fanfic. This is going to be a much longer story, with a more developed plot and, well..more dramatics :P. Here's the full summary. This first "chapter" is just the prologue, to give you guys a taste.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Teen Titans, however I do own the plot, and any characters made up for the sake of the story :**)**

**Full Summary: **After finally getting together in Tokyo, Robin and Starfire were in complete bliss. Two hearts that had always belonged together, had finally joined. But almost year later, the Teen titans were forced to go their separate ways. Including the two that loved one another. In these past five years, they've all moved on. With jobs, with school, with relationships. What happens when Robin and Starfire reconnect, only to discover that one of them is getting married? Mostly Robin & Starfire. Beast Boy & Raven.

**Note: **Although the story is rated T, it may change in future chapters. If so, I will make sure to warn any younger readers in the author notes at the beginning :)

Prologue

_Twelve minutes and thirteen seconds. The amount of time Starfire had spent desperately sobbing in her boyfriend's arms._

_Twelve minutes and thirteen seconds. The amount of time Robin had spent holding all his sentiment inside._

"_Star..Star please don't cry.." he managed to croak out, his voice threatening to break at every syllable._

_Starfire sat up for the first time that evening, her eyes swollen and red, tears still streaming down her delicate face._

"_Robin how can I not be crying? You are leaving! You are leaving me, you are leaving our team and..and our team and our friends are coming upon their expiration date!" her voice broke and she collapsed onto Robin's bed once more, covering her face and tearing once more._

_Robin sighed. He had been personally called by the US Navy commander. He was offered a 4 year job to train recruits at a basic training camp. In Germany._

"_Starfire..I..it's a great opportunity..You know we can't be the Teen Titans forever. I mean, Raven's going to college, Cyborg's inspired to open a business. We're almost adults."_

_Starfire sat up, looking at Robin sadly. "Robin I understand all this. It is just that..I do not want to see our friendships fade away. I do not want to see..us, fade away."_

_Robin desperately bit his lip, hard, so he would not focus on the tears threatening to fall._

_He loved Starfire with all his might. But he couldn't turn down an offer such as this._

"_I wish you'd come with me.." he whispered, slowly taking her hand._

_Starfire looked away, a painful expression dawning on her face. Her hand lingered on his, stroking it gently with her thumb._

"_You know very well I cannot come Robin. I am your girlfriend, not your wife. There is no room for girlfriends where you are going."_

_He shook his head. "No..no Star. We can get our own place around camp. We can live together. We-"_

"_We have only been together for 8 months Robin. And I too desire to pursue further education. But I do not wish to give up my..my home. This city is my home.." _

_Robin let go of her hand, unsure of what to say. Being Teen Titans had been all they'd known. All of them. But the fact that they'd spent the past few years fighting crime instead of attending public school, didn't mean that they didn't all have serious decisions to make upon entering adulthood._

_Starfire looked at Robin meekly. "Robin why is it that you cannot go to school? With me?"_

_Robin groaned. "Star. I hate school. I don't want to go near one. This job, this opportunity that's been offered to me, it's a dream. It's perfect for me."_

_Starfire laid back down on Robin's bed. She looked up at him, and held out a hand. He looked at her sadly._

"_What?" he whispered hoarsely, a sad tone overtaking him._

_Starfire kept her hand out until Robin took it. She pulled him back down and laid there with him._

"_It is ending isn't it?" she whispered._

_Robin pulled Starfire close, wrapping his arms around her waist. He took in the scent coming from her hair. Strawberries._

"_I guess it is."_

TTTTT_  
_

_Robin spent the next few days juggling packing and spending time with Starfire. He was leaving today, but he'd pushed the impending ache in his heart to the back of his head. Starfire had also managed to give off a sweet and optimistic demeanor. She wanted her last moments with Robin to be good memories._

"_Hey Star?" Robin called over his shoulder. He found was looking at his uniform in hand. The "R" patch on his shirt had worn and was falling off. He picked at it until it came off completely._

"_Yes Robin? Is there something you need assistance with?" she said as she closed Robin's suitcase._

_As she walked towards him, Robin felt his heart begin to break. She was wearing his old gray sweatpants, an old white tank and her hair was a messy auburn bun. She was beautiful. She was his. At least for now._

_He felt her hand land gently on his shoulder. "Robin? What is it?"_

_He looked at her, holding out his broken "R", _

"_I want you to have this Star. It's..It's not much, but being Robin of the Teen Titans has always meant everything to me. Being a part of this team and wearing this uniform, it's a great part of my life. And I don't want to forget it. And..I don't want you to forget it either..or me.."_

_Starfire breathed in and out slowly, a technique she had developed since she realized Robin was leaving. A technique that calmed the sobs threatening to rise._

"_I..I would never forget Robin." She threw her arms around him, burying her head in the crook of his neck. A few tears escaped, grazing her cheeks._

_Robin held on to her tighter. For the life of him, he did not want to ever let go._

_But there was no way he could fast forward 4 years. Past responsibilities and should have tos and musts. Past it all, to a place where he and Starfire could be together. Just BE. It was all his heart desired. _

_But if it was all his heart desired, then why, oh why were the circumstances so against him? So against her?_

"_Robin I do not want to lose you..I love you.." she said as her voice wavered and shattered._

_Robin couldn't take it anymore, he knew he would break if he heard her cry again._

_He pulled away enough so that he could look in her eyes._

"_I love you too. And Star..trust me..I'll always be yours. And only yours." _

_He cupped her face and pulled her in, kissing her slowly. Memorizing the curve of her lips, her taste, anything he could forever commit to memory._

_Starfire responded eagerly, placing her hands over Robin's, she kissed him for what she knew would be the last time._

"_Robin.." she pulled away, "I cannot bear to see you go. This is the good bye for me."_

_She looked at Robin, tears spilling over. He stood there. He was leaving in an hour, not NOW. She couldn't go now. He had to ask her to stay, stay with him, holding him until the last possible second._

_But he didn't._

_She mouthed, I love you, once more and flew out his door, out of his life._

_Robin swallowed hard, trying hard to control his feelings. He clenched his fists and closed his eyes. But still the tears came, they came and continued. On and off for years to come._

_

* * *

_

**Alright hope you guys liked it.**

**To share something, the story, especially the prologue was inspired by my life a bit.**

**See..I'm a senior, and my boyfriend is as well. Right now, the paths we're taking after graduation are what is best for us, but take us away from each other. And I'm not the kind to compromise what I want, what I dream of, for another guy. Neither is he. And today was just a bad day. It seemed like..no matter how much we tried to stay together after high school, 99% of the odds weren't in our favor. It saddened me, I do love him very much and honestly I spent half the afternoon crying (lol I'm pmsing so! Extra emotional :P). But writing this made me feel better. Some of my feelings are probably translated onto here. It sucks. Knowing there's a chance you may have to let go of something you love.**

**I wish I could fast forward 4 years and just be with him. Just be.**

**ANYWAY.**

**Hope you liked my beginning story, and although the beginning was a little depressing, I like keeping my positivity on high, so it will get better. Promise :)**

***cough* reviews welcome XD**


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Starfire was falling asleep on the bus for the third time that hour. Once her head hit the window again, however, she snapped out of it.

"Ooh.." she said, rubbing the now slightly bruised temple.

"What is it baby?" Jake Peterson put his newspaper down and looked to his girlfriend.

"Oh. Um. Nothing Jake. I'm alright. Do not worry." Starfire said with a smile. She looked out the window, familiarizing herself once more with Jump City. The memories of this place had threatened to resurface far too fast. It was about time she moved back.

She turned and intertwined her fingers with Jake's. "I am so happy that I am here Jake. It means a great amount that you are willing to stay with me despite the newly found distance between our cities.."

Jake folded up his newspaper and carefully tucked it in his briefcase.

"You're too good to give up babe. We'll make this work. Trust me." Jake winked and kissed Starfire.

Starfire had lived in Celeste, a small town about a few hours from Jump City, for the past 4 and a half years. After the Teen Titans disbanded, she decided to attend the Celeste School of Education there, working on getting a degree as a kindergarten teacher. Starfire personified joy, patience and innocence. It was only fitting she teach young children as a career.

"Is this not exciting? I cannot wait for you to finally meet my friends!" She exclaimed excitedly clapping her hands together. She was happy that she had kept in touch with Beast Boy, Cyborg, and Raven. Jake though, had never met them.

"Well..from what you've told me, they seem...er..eccentric." he said as he gave her a tight lipped smile.

"They are most eccentric and wonderful indeed!" Starfire leaned over, hugging Jake and looking up at him. He was a very handsome man, she thought. He was young, merely 25 years old. His hair was short, a dirty blond that reminded Starfire of the sand nearest to the beach. Being 6'4, Jake towered over Star's 5'7 frame. She loved his athleticism. He was built nicely, muscles bulging in all the right places. He was, aesthetically, perfect.

Yet..his goal oriented, mature nature lacked the child-like playfulness that Starfire sometimes craved.

"I think we're here Star." Jake pointed at a white and green apartment building with a moving truck parked in front.

"Oh glorious!" Starfire's eyes shone with excitement as she shoved her face up against the window.

"It is as beautiful as in the picture Jake!"

Starfire had decided to move back home to look for a job at a local school. Although Celeste was a beautiful place, with the ocean tracing the horizon, it didn't seem right to do so there. She had rented an apartment near the old Titans Tower so she would be around her old neighborhood, and especially her old friends.

The bus came to a stop, Starfire flew over Jake, dragging his hand. "Oh we must hurry! I must see the equally wonderful inside!"

Jake gently yanked his hand away, picking up his briefcase. "Alright babe I'm coming. It's not going anywhere. Calm down."

Starfire frowned slightly, flying off by herself.

Jake was still studying to become a lawyer. He was sometimes dry or stiff, but Starfire usually brushed it off and continued whatever she was doing at the moment.

As she ran to the moving truck, she saw a familiar pair arguing by the truck.

"...of course she was into me dude! She touched my hand!"

"She was paying for the oil change man!"

Starfire broke into a run, smiling madly. "FRIENDS! IT IS ME! I HAVE MISSED YOU!" she pulled both Cyborg and Beast Boy into a simultaneous hug.

"Hey! Star!" Beast Boy exclaimed, wrapping an arm around his friend.

Starfire broke the group hug, jumping up and down giddily as she examined the friends she had not seen in almost 2 years.

Cyborg was still the same, but he seemed more comfortable in his own skin. He wore light jeans and a fitted gray shirt. Beast Boy made an impact on her however. He had gotten much taller, and his shoulders had broadened. Yet his face still had same glint of mischief and humor in his eye.

"Oh you both look wonderful!" she turned and walked towards the back of the truck, "I must check for my belongings, I will be right back!"

"Ahh! Star you look great too by the way!" Cyborg called after her. He turned to Beast Boy, a surprised look taking over his face.

"Man! Star looks amazing!"

Beast Boy turned around to check out Starfire. "Dude I know. I mean. She's basically my sister, but speaking like a total guy, she's gotten even hotter! And she was so pretty before.."

It was true. Starfire wore her hair down, a natural wave curling it perfectly. She had gotten used to wearing civilian clothing and it suited her perfectly. She was not high maintenance, and the only garments adorning her body were jeans and a tank top. But her smile, joy and natural persona, made her stand out in a sea of millions.

Beast Boy looked around, noticing a stuffy looking guy walking towards them. He was tall, obviously good looking and built. But he wore tan pants and light blue polo shirt.

"Psst. Cyborg." Beast Boy nudged him, eyeing the incoming stranger, "look at the stooge coming this way. You don't think that Star's REALLY dating that guy?"

Cyborg crossed his arms, "I think it is. He looks...boring."

Beast Boy snorted, and stepped towards Jake. "Hey bud."

Jake was pulling a rolling metal suitcase behind him and holding his briefcase tight against his chest. He looked very uncomfortable.

"Uh. Hi fellas." he cleared his throat, looking from the half machine man to the green skinned snarky looking fellow.

Awkward silence fell over the group. They all looked at one another, trying to think of anything to talk about.

Thankfully, Starfire appeared, carrying her mattress. "Helloo! I need assistance with the rest please!"

They ran to help move things into the apartment, gladly abandoning the temporary discomfort.

TTTTT

"It is wonderful is it not?" Starfire looked around her new home peacefully. Boxes were the only objects adorning the empty place, Cyborg and Beast Boy lay exhausted on the floor, panting. They didn't have the strength Starfire conceived, enough to move boxes and furniture all day, and still have enough energy left over to attempt to throw a housewarming party at midnight.

Beast Boy dramatically threw his arms over his face. "Oh god Star I can't feel my arms, I..I can't."

Starfire began to walk over to Beast Boy, when the bell rang.

"I will be right back to place the cold raw meat your sores Beast Boy!" Starfire ran over to the door, excited to discover if it was who she was expecting.

She threw open the door, sticking her head out to check the hallway.

"Hello? Hello?" she called. Frowning, she went back inside the house. As she turned around, the sight that appeared in front of her made her scream.

"Ahh!" Starfire threw her arms around a smirking Raven. "MY FRIEND RAVEN OH MY GOODNESS I HAVE MISSED YOU!"

Raven stepped back, out of balance a bit. She hugged Star back momentarily and smiled.

"Hey Star. Missed you too. Try not to kill me though, your strength's pretty out there. Heh." Raven smoothed her hair.

Starfire looked at her old friend. She'd definitely changed, her appearance at least. Raven's hair was longer than when Starfire had left. It was still the same divergent shade of color, but it grazed barely past her shoulders, delicately curling at the ends. She also wore civilian clothes; a casual pair of jeans, black boots, and a dark blue pullover hoodie. However, her eyes and face hadn't changed at all. She was still incredibly radiant, Starfire thought.

"Oh Raven you look wonderful! Surely you have a male companion taking advantage of your appearance yes?" Star exclaimed giddily.

Raven laughed and turned around, walking towards Cyborg and Beast Boy.

"Uh. No Star, no 'male companions' for me."

Raven kicked Beast Boy's seemingly lifeless body curiously. She lived around her old friends, so she'd seen them nearly on a weekly basis for the past few years. Today, she was incredibly glad there was going to be another girl for her to talk to once more.

Beast Boy jumped up, throwing an arm around Raven casually. "Nah. None of these douchey 'male companions' are good enough for our Raven, so I make sure to keep 'em away Star!"

Starfire could have sworn she saw Raven's indigo eyes widen and her cheeks turn a furious shade of red before smacking Beast Boy's hand away.

"So. Changing the subject. Where is this famous Jake, Star?" Raven asked.

Starfire sat down on the table. "Well he has checked into a local hotel, and we shall meet for breakfast tomorrow. Would you like to join us? Oh please do friends! You must get to know my Jake better!" she urged.

Cyborg, Beast Boy and Raven exchanged looks. Slowly, they all nodded and agreed. If there's a new guy in Starfire's life, they might as well thoroughly analyze the guy.

Starfire squealed and once more flew over to her friends and pulled them all into her famous bone crushing hugs.

"Wonderful! I cannot wait!"

TTTTT

"Bye Star! We'll see ya tomorrow!" Beast Boy waved as he, Cyborg and Raven left Starfire's new home.

"Be safe girl!"

"Don't open the door to any strangers Starfire. Call me if you get locked out or something. You can't break into an apartment." Raven called out.

Once Starfire finished waving and closed the door, Raven dragged Beast Boy and Cyborg downstairs to Cyborg's renovated version of the T-car.

Well. It was the Cy-Car now.

"Raven what is it?" Cyborg questioned, rubbing the ear Raven had been pulling.

"What is it? We all know how Starfire is. And we all know how she left..completely heartbroken over Robin's absence. Now there's some new guy in the picture. Do you guys know anything about him? Is he good to her? Does he take advantage of her in any way?" Raven went on, her arms crossed and her eyebrows furrowed with worry.

"Whoa, Rae calm down." Beast Boy looked at her, "We met the guy for like TWO seconds before we had to move furniture. And then he excused himself to go 'study' whatever that meant."

Cyborg nodded. "Yeah, he didn't seem like a bad guy, just.. I don't know. Kind of stuffy and stuck up."

Raven bit her lip for a minute. She knew a lot about how Starfire had felt for Robin. She'd spent the first few nights after Robin had left, consoling a completely desolate Starfire. She needed to make sure this guy was at least doing justice to her friend.

"You guys do realize we're doing a full background check on this guy." Raven stated directly.

Cyborg and Beast Boy smirked.

"Way ahead of you." Beast Boy said with a cryptic smile.

* * *

_Alright I know this Chapter was a little slow, but bear with me, things need to to be set up :P  
_

_Reviews and comments appreciated. Always love to know what you guys think :)  
_


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

"Nothing. This guy's squeaky clean." Raven stated, shoving the documents back in the drawer. Cyborg and Beast Boy had done a little digging on Jake with some old Titan technology and a little help from the Jump City Police Department. They'd gotten everything from family ties, to old relationships, but he was clean. The worst thing on his record was getting kicked out of Barnes and Noble for loitering.

Cyborg lay down on his couch, he laughed. "Yup. Looks like this guy's worst trait's those ugly ass khaki pants."

Beast Boy walked over to Raven, leaning over her body, looking at the scattered papers. "I don't know man.. Nobody's THAT perfect.."

Raven swallowed, tilting her head slightly so she could avoid eye contact with Beast Boy. "Uh. Yeah. He's right. For now, the best we can do is actually get to know him."

Cyborg perked up. "Yes! At breakfast! Let's go I'm hungry!"

They'd pulled an early morning session at Cyborg's place, deciding to meet Star and Jake for the breakfast they'd committed to.

Raven rolled her eyes and followed Cyborg to the car. Beast Boy soon followed suit and ran ahead of her, he got the car first and almost slid into the passenger's seat, when he got a strange look on his face and smirked in Raven's direction.

He stood aside and opened the car door for Raven, "Shot-gun Raven? Go ahead, I'll let ya have it this one time." he teased.

Raven elbowed him playfully, and slid in. "Don't I feel special.."

Beast Boy grinned, glad to be in the back if it meant getting that look from Raven.

TTTTT

Robin rolled over onto his stomach, groaning at the incoming sunlight radiating from his open window.

"Richie!" a shrill voice pierced his head. It took him a minute to realize who it was.

He sat up slowly, scratching his messy head. "Mallory? What are you doing in here? How'd you even get in?"

A small, slim blonde turned around and bounced over to Robin's bed.

"From the key under the mat silly!" she said, much too perkily in Robin's opinion.

He yawned, "That's..actually for emergencies."

Her eyes got wide and she smiled, "This WAS an emergency baby! I brought pancake mix just for you and me and us. You know. A traditional sit down breakfast!"

Robin stared at the girl on his bed. He wasn't sure weather to kick her out or lie and tell her he had work.

"Er..thanks?" finally came out. He was much too tired to deal with Mallory's dramatics. She was his girlfriend of 4 months, but she had no right to invade his privacy and basically freak him out by breaking into his house first thing in the morning.

She leaned over, aggressively wrapping her arms around him, and pulled him to a kiss.

Oh right. That's why they were dating.

He pulled away, walking towards the shower.

"Want some company in there Richie?" Mallory called after him. He pretended not to hear.

As he climbed in the shower, he tuned her out, and wondered why, after 4 years of moping and trying to get over Starfire, he had settled for the first girl that had wiggled her ass in his face. Literally.

_Starfire._

Her name echoed in his head, just like it had every single day for the past 5 years.

He shook his head, trying to concentrate on reality. He went about his morning routine, systematically. It made it easier to have cycle he could follow, for nearly everything.

Shampoo. Rinse. Scrub. Soap. Condition. Rinse. Scrub. Rinse. Soap.

He sighed, grabbing a towel to dry off. He looked out the window. He had a perfect view of the old Titans tower from his apartment. It was run down, and disheveled by now, but it still stood strong. He'd taken an extra year as a trainer, it was too hard coming back when he very well knew he had nothing to come back to. But now, he'd had no choice. He'd been "home" for six months now and he'd stayed in his apartment as much as possible. He didn't know weather anyone from the team was left here. He didn't really want to find out. All he knew is that the person that mattered most was gone, and that was enough incentive to hide in his hole forever.

He'd gotten used living without Starfire in his life. Today was a new day of the same old feeling. Over time, the sharp pain that conquered his heart whenever he thought of her, had subsided into a dull ache. He was at least thankful for that.

TTTTT

"Friends! Over here! We have saved the table for us!" Starfire waved enthusiastically at an approaching Raven, Beast Boy and Cyborg.

The trio had pasted on smiles on their faces, through gritted teeth Raven spoke. "Be nice for Starfire's sake. But interrogate the crap out of this guy."

Starfire smiled when they took a seat. Jake, once more looked rather awkward. He cleared his throat.

"Hello all." he nodded in Raven's direction.

Raven wasn't sure how to respond. She couldn't read him well. She was excellent at reading people. She was an empath after all.

"Uh. Hey Jake. I'm..Raven." she said dryly, unsure weather she should have used her real name. Only close friends called her Raven.

"Yeah and uh..you can just call me Gar." Beast Boy attempted to smile.

"Cy'll be fine." Cyborg nodded curtly.

There was a trace of tension at the table. Starfire sensed this and immediately tried to steer the conversation to something pleasant.

"So! Friends tell me. What have you been doing with your lives?" she smiled.

Beast Boy looked from Raven to Cyborg. They didn't show any indication that they were going to speak any time soon. He decided to talk, for Star's sake.

"Well..I'm actually working on becoming a vet Star. It's taking me a while, considering we didn't exactly go to high school. I work with Cy at his shop, and volunteer at the pound." he smiled, thinking of plans. "I bunk with Cyborg because I spend about three quarters of my income on school."

Cyborg elbowed his friend jokingly. "Yeah, he keeps the house clean, but if it wasn't for that damn tofu..."

Beast Boy laughed. "Dude what do you expect?"

Starfire leaned in, obviously interested. "Oh boys, I'm so glad you have not changed."

Cyborg continued, "Nah. We're pretty much the same. Now I never liked school, but I lived for my car so naturally I have my own business. 'Cy's Specialty Mechanics'. It actually started pretty slow, but I've had some loyal customers over the years."

Beast Boy snorted. "Yeah. Hot ones."

Cyborg grinned and leaned in close to Star. "The ladies love me Star! What can I say? I get hundreds of 'accidental' engine overloads a month!"

Raven rolled her eyes. "I uh. Went to college." she stated dryly.

Starfire waited for more. "And? What else Raven? What have you gone to school for? Are you becoming a librarian?"

Raven raised an eyebrow, slightly irritated. Just because she liked books, didn't mean she was going to worship them librarian style.

"No. No librarian for me Star. I'm..actually going to be a psychologist. You know. Help out people with whatever's wrong in their heads."

Starfire nodded. "That seems perfect Raven."

Raven turned her attention to Jake, who had been pretty quiet. Taking in the information, it seemed.

"So Jake. Enlighten us with your story." she said bluntly, her eyes burning into his. Their waitress finally arrived, at an ill-suited time.

A small, slim blonde bounced to their table. She smiled broadly when she noticed who it was. "Oh my GOSH! You guys are the Teen Titans! Oh well. The not so Teen Titans I guess I should say? I read all about you in this course I took!" she spoke a mile a minute, her blue eyes flickering from face to face. "Let's see, you're Cyborg. You're..Raven! You're Boy Beast and-"

"Beast Boy, but you know..I'm sure you get away with getting people's names wrong with that face. " he grinned.

The blonde broke into a deafening cackle. "Oh my! You are just too cute. But I do have a boyfriend so..sorry."

Beast Boy didn't seem fazed however, he simply nodded and picked up his menu.

Raven, on the hand, snapped at the ditzy waitress. "Can you do us the honorary favor of actually doing your job? AKA, the one thing you're talented at? Thanks."

"Ohh..kay..well. I'm Mallory. I'll be serving you today. Whatcha gonna have?" she diligently took out a notepad and waited.

"Pancakes. Butter. Syrup. OJ."

"Whatever you have that's based off Tofu."

"Toast'll be fine. Shouldn't be too complicated to remember."

Starfire looked through her menu quizzically. Finally she said, "Well I shall have the pancakes as well, and if you could please bring me a large container of mustard too? Thank you." she smiled and handed the menu back.

Jake frowned. "Coffee for me. Black."

Once Mallory left, Jake leaned towards Starfire and whispered. "Babe, you know I don't like you eating pure mustard. It's...strange."

Nobody but Raven heard this. She immediately narrowed her eyes at Jake.

_What the hell?_ She thought. _Who does this guy think he is, telling Starfire not to have something she loves?_

Starfire lowered her gaze and turned her head. She made a small 'hmph' sound. Jake looked rather irritated. He looked in Raven's direction and she immediately greeted him with a dirty look. He looked nervous and turned away.

She tried to read him, maybe see what was in his mind.

Nothing. It was as if he had an intense barrier blocking his every thought.

She looked away, concentrating on the passing traffic as Cyborg and Jake attempted conversation at the latest technological advances.

Raven noticed something about to cross the street.

No. Someone. Someone very familiar.

She sat up, trying to get a better look. The street was crowded and the several vehicles only hid this figure. She wasn't sure what she was looking for. It was a feeling. Or better said..an aura of some sort. A very familiar one.

Raven frowned, frustrated. She hated it when she knew something but didn't really know it.

"Raven? Are you alright?" Starfire questioned, a concerned look on her face.

"Uh. Yeah. I'm fine Star." she attempted a small smile, trying to forget the strange incident. "Now. Where's that incompetent waitress with our food?"

TTTTT

"Baby! You came to visit me!"

Mallory threw her arms around Robin, knocking him off balance, into the nearest wall.

Robin wasn't sure how to respond. He'd forgotten this was the diner Mallory worked. He just wanted a decent plate of eggs and bacon after the burnt pancakes she'd prepared for him that morning.

"Uh..yeah I guess. Can you get me the special to go? I'm in a hurry."

She pouted and tried wrapping her arms around Robin's waist, "But Richie. Today's your day off! I memorized your schedule!"

Robin began to get annoyed. "Look just come over later, I'm busy right now. The special please?"

Mallory nodded and bounced off in the other direction. Robin leaned against the wall near kitchen, wanting to avoid the breakfast crows in the other part of the restaurant.

Robin sulked. He worked at an extension of Wayne Enterprises. Even HE wasn't sure what he did. He'd come home needing a job, anything that paid, and Bruce had pulled through for him. Although he was late, he preferred to procrastinate a bit more. Without Mallory. He loosened his tie and swung his jacket over his shoulder, pacing back and forth waiting for Mallory to return with his food.

And then he heard it.

That laugh. That giggle. He knew it anywhere.

Robin turned his head, left and right. Unsure where it came from. He looked in the kitchen, over the counter. He walked in the area with the booths.

Nothing. All he saw was strange faces staring back at him.

He turned and almost ran to the other side of the diner, the area with only tables. He saw the yellow curtains at the opening, a 'Tables' sign hoisted above them. He almost walked through it.

A hand stopped him, grabbing his arm sternly. "Richie, WHAT are you doing running all over my job?" Mallory questioned, a confused look etched on her face.

Robin panted, "I..I heard..I thought..." he trailed off, intently looking at the opening covered by yellow curtains in front of him. He realized how he was acting.

He cleared his throat and grabbed the bag of food from Mallory's hand.

"Nothing. I'll see you later." he pecked her on the cheek and disappeared out the door. The bell above the door jingled as he slammed it closed.

TTTTT

Raven turned around and gasped.

There it was again. That feeling.

_This is crazy_, she thought. She'd heard the faint noise of a bell. The same one that rang when they came in. why was that so substantial?

"Raven! Hellooo! Friend Raven!" Starfire was out of her seat, waving both hands in front of Raven.

"Huh? Oh sorry Star..I don't know what that was about."

"You have been strange today Raven. Is there something that troubles you?"

Raven shook her head and stood, "No. Can we get out of here?"

They had all grown tired of their unsuccessful 'breakfasts'. It seemed as if everyone's respective dishes were burnt, undercooked, runny, squishy, or consisting of meat (to Beast Boy's dismay).

Jake grabbed the check, paying the full bill.

Cyborg and Beast Boy stopped while they dug in their wallets.

"Uh. Thanks man. We got next one."

Jake nodded. "No problem." he grabbed Starfire around the waist and escorted her out.

"I will see you later friends! I expect you for dinner! I have learned how to do the earth cooking!" she smiled gleefully as she disappeared out the door. Cyborg, Beast Boy and Raven followed suit.

"Dude this was so boring. Let's go play some old school video games!" Beast said excitedly.

Cyborg nodded and began calling out potential tittles.

Raven rolled her eyes and began digging in her purse for her phone. In doing so, something of a dingy yellow color smacked her in the face.

"Ow! Damn." she said, rubbing her eye, looking around for what had attacked her. When she spotted it, she swatted it away childishly.

"Stupid curtain."

* * *

_Ohhhhh Snap! Things are picking up lol_

_Honestly i was a little bored by the beginning of my story. I love it now that things are starting to climb._

_Well review and let me know what you think, criticism, advice and praise always welcome :D_

_I'll try to have the next chapter out soon :P  
_


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Raven walked down the street. She declined Cyborg's offer to give her a ride back home. She was never one to 'take in the fresh air', but she really just wanted to clear her head. She stuck her hands in her pockets and took a detour to the park. It was early so considering she didn't want to be hit by flying discs, she head towards the nearby forest, keeping track of where she was going. She didn't need to get lost.

TTTTT

Robin couldn't help but replay Starfire's laughter in his head over and over again.

Had that just been in his head?

It seemed so real. He crossed the street, coming to a stop in front of his office.

He sighed, shaking his head, trying to shake the memories away. No luck.

"Forget this." he mumbled and stuck his hands in his pockets. He needed to clear his head.

TTTTT

"Damn it." Raven cursed under hr breath while she moved a branch out of her way. She'd vowed she wouldn't get lost and what happens?

She gets lost.

It's not like she was in the middle of nowhere, she could faintly hear children's cries and laughter. She just needed to get back on the correct trail that would lead her back to where she'd began.

Her mind wandered a bit. Back to the strange sensation she'd had at the diner.

She gave up after coming to a fork in the trail and sighed. She sat down near a large oak tree and opened a book. She'd try to find her way out later.

TTTTT

Robin walked towards the park. He reminisced about the times he and the Titans would spend entire afternoons here. He missed it. He missed having the closest thing he'd ever had to a family.

It was crowded. Children kept running into him and frisbees kept barely missing his face.

He was about to leave when he noticed trail leading to the forest.

He followed it automatically, letting his thoughts wander.

And just like every time they wandered, they wandered to Starfire.

TTTTT

Raven was deep in thought, until something made her gasp.

There it was again.

That...feeling.

She remained sitting, but looked around.

"Hello..?" she called out reluctantly.

She heard nothing back.

_You're going crazy,_ she thought to herself.

No.

No, it was becoming stronger. She felt it. She felt the familiar aura come closer.

She waited.

A few moments passed and then she heard them.

Footsteps.

TTTTT

The laughter and squeals became faint. He kept following the trail.

_Focus on work, focus on work, focus on work—damn it! _He thought.

Robin stopped at a fork in the trail. He rubbed his eyes and felt exhausted. Emotionally exhausted.

Over the years, he had never once stopped loving her. Not once. He never should have left.

That laugh he had heard today, it broke him. Weather it was a figment of his imagination or not.

He ran to the nearest tree and punched it repeatedly, grunting in frustration.

"Goddamn it! I hate you! I hate you!" he yelled. At nothing. At everything. At himself.

Eventually he grew tired and slid down, panting.

He buried his head in his hands and tried to calm down.

Suddenly he heard rustling.

He picked his head up and immediately stood up.

Clearing his throat, he demanded, "Who's there?"

Nothing.

He was about to call out once more, when a small figure began to appear.

His eyes couldn't believe it, he blinked repeatedly, his fists still clenched and his body in a fight stance.

"Raven.." he barely whispered.

Raven understood now. It was him. It had been him earlier at the diner and it was him now. The familiar aura, the feeling, it was him.

"R..Robin..What..How?" she was confused once more.

He was in shock. He hadn't seen Raven in 5 and a half years.

"Uh..you look nice?" he asked more than stated.

She smirked. "You look exactly the same."

He laughed, relieved at this welcome blast from the past. He took a step towards her and hugged his old friend.

Raven wasn't sure how to respond. She'd never been one for much affection, but this was one of her closest friendships had suddenly appeared.

"What are you doing here Robin? I thought you were in Germany or some other part of the world by now." she said, pulling away and remembering the reason she hadn't seen him in so long.

Robin sighed. "I was. I've actually been around for a few months now." he paused, trying to act casual. "How's uh..Beast Boy and Cyborg..and..and Starfire..? Do you keep in touch?"

Raven raised an eyebrow, reading Robin's feelings like a book. She decided to tease him a bit.

"Oh Cyborg's great. He owns a mechanic's business right here. Beast Boy's his partner, but he's actually becoming a vet. Should have seen that coming huh?"

he nodded, trying to control himself as he waited for her to continue.

"And I'm going to be a psychologist. I gave a similar speech this morning actually. Beast Boy's actually gotten less irritating. Slightly less. We all pretty much keep in touch, considering we all live here and-"  
"Starfire, Raven. How's Starfire?" he pleaded, not being able to take it anymore.

Raven crossed her arms. "What do you care? You left."

Robin groaned. "And that has got to be the biggest mistake I've ever made Raven. Please. I need to know."

Raven sighed, not thrilled to be the bearer of bad news. "She just moved back here."

His heart skipped a beat. She was here.

Raven poked his chest though, "No. No don't go getting all happy Robin. TO be completely straightforward, she's seeing someone else."

and just like that, the small thread of hope, left as quick as it came.

"Oh.." was all he could manage to whisper. His throat was too dry now.

Raven noticed the change in Robin's emotions, right away.

_He still loves her, _she thought.

"I'm sorry Robin.." she put a comforting hand on his shoulder. "Look if it's any comfort, the guy seems like an ass and he's going to be living in Celeste, so I doubt it'll last much longer.."

He managed a small smile, at her efforts, not her news.

"Yeah...it's fine Raven. It's my own stupid fault."

His face fell the moment he'd heard Starfire was someone else now. Raven felt what he felt. It hurt her to see her old teammate like this. Yet, she wasn't sure what to say.

"Well..I'm sure Beast Boy and Cyborg would love to see you again.." she said, trying to change the subject.

"I'm not sure I'm up to seeing anyone for a while." Robin rubbed his head. He had so many emotions running through him. But he did want to know more.

"Hey Raven?" he asked slowly.]

"Hmm?"

"Think you might wanna have dinner tonight? I'd really like to catch up. It's..been lonely since I've been back, to be honest." he smiled solemnly.

Raven remembered something however. "Oh..Robin I'd really like to, but I have to go to Starfire's for dinner tonight. But if you want we can have lunch tomorrow."

Robin grinned. "Yeah. Yeah I'd like that."

"Alright. I'll tell you more about Starfire then too." she smiled, she knew he was going to ask. "So can you help me out of this forest? I'm kinda lost." Raven admitted sheepishly.

Robin laughed and walked his friend out, glad to have someone from his past back in his present.

* * *

_Hey guys! Short chapter i know! But i'm getting it all together as much as I can. Hope you liked it. Reviews and feedback welcome!_

_I'll try to have the next (longer) chapter up by tomorrow or thursday :D_


	5. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

"Robin?" Beast Boy said incredulously.

"Beast Boy keep it down! Starfire's gonna hear you." Raven hissed. Starfire was in the kitchen with Jake, cleaning up after the surprisingly splendid dinner she'd prepared.

"Right..right sorry. But I can't believe he's HERE." he mumbled, more to himself than Raven.

"Well he is. And I'm meeting him for dinner tomorrow, tell him the whole story."

Beast boy's brow furrowed. "What he left Starfire and now he's back for you?"

Raven's cheeks burned, she'd never thought of Robin as more than a brother. And for Beast Boy of all people to think of THAT? Unprepared for Beast Boy's accusation she said, "No you twit. He's still completely in love with Starfire."

Beast Boy shrank back, he quickly changed the subject, "Oh..right. Well uh..think me and Cyborg can tag along? I think we'd both like to see Robin. I mean, granted we weren't passionately in love with him like Starfire, but a titan reunion sounds fun."

Raven nodded and stood up from the couch, she fixed her mid-thigh length black dress in the process.

"Well I'll tell Robin you guys are coming, and..uh. Don't say anything to Starfire for now. It'd just conflict her feelings."

Beast Boy stood and nodded, he began to walk away when he stopped and turned.

He shoved his hands in his pockets. "Hey Raven?"

"Yeah?"

"You look nice." he smirked, and walked away.

TTTTT

Starfire had grown accustomed to earth over the past few years. When she was a teen, she had Robin to guide her, but once he left and she moved to Celeste, Jake had immediately been taken with her. And he had helped her so much over the years. She was so thankful for that.

"Hey baby, do you mind coming out on the terrace with me?" Jake asked her.

She turned to him and smiled, "Of course! Let us go. I assume you want to view the stars with me? It is very nice out tonight."

She grabbed his hand and led him outdoors.

"Hey Star, where you guys goin'?" Cyborg asked from the couch.

"Oh we shall be right back Cyborg! We are going to view the stars momentarily!"

Once they were outside, Starfire dropped Jake's hand and spun into the air.

"Oh can you not smell the glorious night air Jake?"

Jake smiled, and raised a hand up, "Babe you wanna come down here for a minute?"

She nodded and stood in front of Jake.

"Now..Starfire, uh. May I call you Kori?" he asked.

She was surprised, but nodded.

"Well..Kori, I remember about 4 years ago when I met you. You were trying to buy a shopping cart full of mustard and I talked you into buying a few jars and actual meals instead. Well since then..I've been very smitten with your beauty and the way you care so much. And I like..protecting you from what's wrong..and what I'm trying to say Kori, is that I'd like to protect you for the rest of my life." he ended, his face scrounged up in doubt.

Starfire was unsure how to respond, she was still unaware of how serious Jake was.

He dropped down to one knee, and pulled a small box out of his pocket. He opened it and held it up to Starfire.

"So..Kori. Will you..Marry me?" he asked tentatively.

Starfire knew what marriage was. She knew the technical definition. Yet..she was unsure if she wanted to spend the rest of her own life married to Jake.

"Jake..this is a very sincere proposition.." she began, trying to quickly sort her emotions and organize her feelings.  
She did love Jake. She did. She was sure of it. He always protected her and he was safe and kind. He never shunned her, or worked too much or preferred the alone time instead of her company. It was thanks to him that she was able to live. He had taught her so much. If he wanted to protect her for the rest of his life and be with her..she couldn't deny him that after all he'd done, could she?

Yes. That was true. Besides..she had no better option than to be with a man who clearly loved her. That was all she'd ever wanted..

"Oh Jake..I..I accept." she said at last.

Jake smiled broadly and slipped the diamond ring onto Starfire's delicate finger. He stood up and hugged her.

"We'll be very happy Kori.." he whispered.

Starfire nodded and buried her head in Jake's neck. But she couldn't quite understand why, at the moment she'd accepted, Robin came to mind.

TTTTT

Starfire and Jake walked back into the room, hand in hand.

"Finally! I thought you guys ditched us or something." Beast Boy exclaimed.

Raven rolled her eyes and grabbed her jacket, "It's getting late Star, so we'd better get going, but your dinner was actually pretty good."

"Yeah! I uh. Took the liberty of wrapping myself up the leftovers Star." Cyborg grinned, 3 large plastic containers in his hands.

"Thanks for the special tofu dish too Star! You're definitely the best." Beast Boy smiled.

"Oh friends! No no wait. You cannot go yet..i have news.." Starfire spoke, dropping Jake's hand and grabbing onto Raven's arm.

"What...is it?" Raven asked hesitantly, she had a bad feeling ruminating in the pit of her stomach. Oh no.

"Well..Jake and I. We are-"

"We're getting married." Jake stated, wrapping his arm around Starfire.

She smiled awkwardly, "Yes! Yes we have decided to, 'tie the knot'! It that the correct slang term?"

Raven's eyes widened, her throat going dry.

_Robin's gonna break, _she thought.

Cyborg and Beast Boy's jaws dropped simultaneously, both in shock.

Starfire felt very uncomfortable at the lack of response.

"Well..are you not going to say something?" she asked meekly.

"Here I thought Kori's friends would be happy for her." Jake said bluntly.

Raven snapped out of it, for Starfire's sake.

Beast Boy and Cyborg both gave Starfire a hug, with small smiles they congratulated her and Jake.

"Congratulation guys. It was just a surprise. We're..very happy for you too lovebirds.." Beast Boy tried joking. He wasn't very successful.

Raven hugged Starfire, whispering. "We'll talk tomorrow."

AS she pulled away she smiled, "Congratulation Star."

Raven turned to Jake and stuck her hand out. He hesitantly took it, a look of discomfort on his face.

"Congr-" she began, but a block of light hit her like a rock.

And then she saw it. She saw everything.

* * *

_Thank you so much for the reviews guys! I love gettin em. _

_Well i hope you enjoyed this latest chapter, i know it was a bit shorter, but I promise, the next one will be much longer :D_

_Thank you for reading!_


	6. Chapter 5

**Hey guys! Sorry for the long wait. I've just been completely ambushed with school and..well life. But I managed to finish this chapter, hopefull it's to your liking. I promise things are starting to slowly but surely turn around. Thanks for all the reviews, I appreciate them so much and work well off them. Well enjoy this! :D**

Chapter 5

"_Shut up! Shut up! Shut up you stupid woman! Why do you make me do this to you?" a dark figure screamed. It raised it's hands and tore at it's hair._

_A woman sunk back in the corner, weeping. She had a small frame with scattered brown hair adorning her fearful face. She clutched the wall for support, her face turned suddenly to look at the figure._

"_Stop! Stop! You can't do this to me!" she yelled defiantly._

_Suddenly the figure struck her across the face. The light captured its features._

_It was Jake._

"_You aren't supposed to do that! You aren't supposed to talk to strangers!" he almost whined desperately. He was breathing heavily, trying to contain his anger. It was impossible. The woman sat on the floor clutching her face. Crying._

_Jake leaned down towards her, grabbing her chin and forcing her to look at him. "I told you I'm only trying to protect you! Let me protect you!" he screeched, wearing out his vocal cords. He pushed her face away and stood up._

"_Oh God..why? Why do you make me do this to you?"_

_The room was silent, except for the quiet cries of the fallen woman and Jake's huffing._

_After a moment, she spoke up. "He..he asked for directions and then just took my purse Jake! Nothing more..He didn't hurt me. I'm..I'm okay.."_

_Jake turned towards her sharply, "Okay? OKAY? You put yourself in danger and I'm here to take care of you and you won't let me do that! You fucking idiot!" He was inches from her face, screaming. She cried out and a slap echoed once more across the room. Her arm failed her as she fell back and her head broke her fall instead._

_Silence._

_Jake dove to the woman, fear instilling itself in his eyes._

"_Lissie? Lissie answer me!" he shook the unconscious body forcefully, throwing her to and fro like a weightless rag doll._

_She didn't wake up. A trickle of blood fell from her temple._

_He whispered and wept into her chest, rubbing her right breast eerily, feeling for a heartbeat._

"_Wake up babe..wake up..up.." he moaned._

_Her eyes were closed, and her skin began to pale._

_He sat up suddenly, his face turned to stone. He cleared his throat, grabbed his coat and left the room, leaving the fallen woman to decay on her own._

TTTTT_  
_

Raven pulled back suddenly, a creepy feeling taking over her. She looked at her hand and she looked to Jake.

His expression didn't change.

She cleared her throat and tried taking her eyes from him.

"Raven! Rae we're goin!" Beast Boy called from the door.

Had she held onto his hand long? Did he know what she'd seen?

Raven turned to Starfire and was unsure what to say to her.

She knew Starfire could take care of herself if necessary, but she had to go make sense out this..this vision.

Raven mumbled good bye and ran after Beast Boy and Cyborg.

She was incredibly spooked. She didn't say anything in the car. Not because she didn't want to, in fact she was dying to say something. But she just didn't know..what to say. How to start.

Until Beast Boy snapped her out of it. "Rae? You alright? You've been extra quiet since Star's house. I mean, Cyborg and I have been talking about video games for about 20 minutes and you haven't even TRIED to shut us up.."

Raven turned her head, just now realizing Beast Boy was sitting next to her.

"I..saw something that disturbed me.." she said, looking at his green eyes.

Cyborg spoke up from the front, "Well what was it Raven? You can tell us little lady you know that."

Beast Boy nodded and discreetly put a hand on above hers.

His touch softened her expression. She'd been so tense.

She took a deep breath, "When..when I shook Jake's hand, the second our skin made contact, I saw something. It was a vision. I'm not sure wheather it was one of the present or the past. Or if it was even real."

Beast Boy studied her eyes, "A vision? Of what?"

"It was Jake," she continued, "he was..smacking some poor girl around. He kept yelling at her. 'Let me protect you..why couldn't you just let me protect you'?"

She told Cyborg and Beast Boy the rest of whole ordeal. They reacted how she'd expected them to.

Cyborg stopped the car and exclaimed, "Raven if this guy's some sort of murderer we can't leave Star back there cooped up with him!"

Raven nodded, "I know, I know..I..wasn't thinking straight. We should probably go back and get her out of there."

Beast boy, however, denied it. "No. No we can't go back there, make some sort of commotion and drag Star away from her new fiancee. What if he's not a murderer, just an ass with beige pants?" he questioned.

"What if he's not?" Raven challenged.

"Then we trust that Star can take care of herself. Dude, she was single-handedly destroying the city when we first met her!"

Cyborg agreed, "Yeah..surely she can take some guy with mustard, ugly ass pants-"

"Oh Azerath, enough with his pants!" Raven snapped. "I think..I think we should go pay Robin a visit a day early."

"Yeah..yeah he might know what to do. In the meantime, he can help us thoroughly research this guy, cuz obviously we missed something." Beast Boy added.

"Alright, Raven, he tell you where he lives?"

She nodded. "Yeah. I know the way."

TTTTT

"Baaaaabyyyy-"

"Oh my God Mallory shut up." Robin snapped. He'd been tense and short tempered since he'd found out about Starfire's new life. And an annoying blonde wasn't exactly relaxing him.

She pouted and crawled onto his lap, "Aw baby I wasn't trying to upset ya. Why doesn't my Richie tell me allll about his day?"

She began to wrap her arms around his neck, but he'd had enough. He took her arms away from him.

"Mallory I..really need to tell you something." he said seriously. She was annoying, but he didn't want to hurt her feelings. He needed to break things off with her. Completely. Stringing her along wasn't right.

Robin was about to speak when his doorbell rang. He frowned, he didn't know anyone that would bother him this late.

Well, except Mallory. But she was already present.

"Well who could THAT be?" she asked him accusingly, placing her hands on her hips.

Robin pulled her off him and walked towards the door.

He opened it to reveal Raven, Beast Boy and Cyborg.

Immediately, Cyborg and Beast Boy pummeled him with high fives and the man version of hugs.

"DUUUUDE! Look at you! You're so man-pretty Robin! I mean.." Beast Boy noticed the familiar blonde in the background, "Richard! Richie. Richie Poo." he smirked.

Robin grinned, unbelievably happy to see his old friends. "Guys! Come in! Come in! Oh man I'm so glad to see you! What are you even doing here?"

Raven smiled at the three former boys reuniting, but recalling their reason for the visit, she approached Robin and calmly placed a hand on his arm. "Robin..we need to talk. About Starfire." she looked behind him, raising her eyebrow at the prissy blonde in the background. Her tone stiffened, "Unless you have something, or should I say someone, far more important?"

Robin blushed, he didn't want Raven getting the wrong idea about him and Mallory. "I'll explain in a minute, let me just get her out of here." he strode over to where Mallory was.

"Hey..Mallory I have-"

"Oh my God Richie I didn't know you knew the Teen Titans! I saw them this morning and.." she began prattling and Robin didn't want her to put Richard Grayson and the Boy Wonder together, so he thought quickly of an excuse.

"Er..they're old clients of mine. They're just visiting. I think you should go Mallory, but...I'd like to talk privately soon if you don't mind."

"Ooh..of course Rich. I think it's time we talk about taking our relationship to the next level too!" she spoke, getting far too ahead of herself. Before Robin had a chance to correct her, she kissed him forcefully (causing his visitors to stare), and skipped out the door.

In the process, she glanced at Beast Boy and Cyborg, posed by the door and winked at the cute changeling who'd hit on her that morning. Raven saw this and slammed the door shut after her, a strange burning in her stomach threatening to spill out in anger.

"I see you're well acquainted Robin. Perhaps we shouldn't talk to you about Starfire." she said in Robin's direction, questioning his intentions for her friend.

Robin began to panic. Raven was the only slight connection he had to Starfire as of right now. "No! No Raven..Mallory's just..we've been..er..dating I guess. Only for about 4 months and not even close to seriously." he quickly added.

"I expect you'll be dumping that floozy if you're not serious about her then?" she questioned.

Robin smirked. He hadn't failed to notice the flare of anger when Mallory had been slightly flirtatious towards Beast Boy. He was all too familiar with jealousy.

He lowered his voice, "Why? Cuz she hit on your booyfriend?"

Raven's eyes widened. She smacked Robin upside the head.

"Ow!"

"That..He..I'm.." she began, stumbling over her words.

Robin smiled, "I've been there too Raven. Remember?"

She relaxed, recalling his awkward period when he was realizing his feelings towards Starfire. Years ago. Not that she was going through a similar experience with Beast Boy. God no. She quickly stopped thinking and tried switching the subject to more important matters.

"We need to talk about Star. And her..er.." she pondered how she could possibly tell Robin his first love was getting married.

Beast Boy seemed to sense Raven's struggle and spoke up.

"Raven had this weird ass vision about Jake, Star's guy." He wanted to spare Robin the news. For a little bit at least.

Robin felt a pang of hurt when he heard that. He was supposed to be her guy.

He blinked several times and sat down on his leather sofa, "What kind of vision?"

Raven sat next to Cyborg, explaining the entire scene for the second time that night. Once she was done, Robin's face flared with fury. He stood up and briskly paced back and forth.

"So she's with a killer? What the hell? And you left her there? We have to go! Now." Robin picked up his jacket and began to tramp towards the door. Beast boy ran and blocked the exit.

"Robin, no. Starfire can take care of herself for the time being and YOU of all people can't possibly go barging back into her life. Not like this."

Robin cursed. He was right. But he had to do something.

"Then what? How do we prove this guy's crime and shove him in prison or better yet, in an institution. Because he seems like some sort of pyschopath!"

"Robin." Raven snapped. "Calm down. You're letting your emotions stop you from thinking rationally."

He sighed. "Then what do we do?" he repeated, more calmly.

Cyborg stood, "We do some more digging. Find out what this guy's all about. And Robin?"

"Yeah?"

"Don't let this cloud your judgment when you talk to Starfire."

Robin's face drooped. In all this commotion, he'd forgotten he hadn't spoken to Starfire in five years. Five long years.

"When should..when should I try her? I still love her guys..should I try to..I don't know..get her back?" His face personified vulnerability and heartache. The Titans had never once seen their former leader like this.

Cyborg, Beast Boy and Raven exchanged looks.

Finally, Cyborg spoke, in a calm low tone. "Look man..we have to tell you something."

* * *

**Oooh okay if you saw that coming with Jake props to ya! I've been droppin a few hints (;**

**Now is he a psycho? Was that real? Da da dum!**

**Hopefully I get a lot more done this week with my stories cuz boy do I have a billion ideas rumminating in my head. **

**Off to update Hormones next!**

**Thanks for reading guys :)**


	7. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Robin's hands dropped to his sides. He fell back onto the couch and stared at his friends in disbelief.

"She's..she's getting married?" he asked, his voice cracking. "She's getting married? Why?" He didn't care how pathetic he sounded. His Starfire. His. She couldn't be. This wasn't how it was supposed to happen.

Beast Boy looked at his friend. He didn't have to be an empath to realize they'd just broken his heart.

Robin shifted his eyes, looking down, searching the ground instead of meeting his friends' eyes. He gripped his other hand until his knuckles turned white.

"Robin.." Raven said softly, she placed her hand on his shoulder and sat next to him. She felt it. She felt his fragments of hope shatter. She felt all he felt right now.

He stood up and shook her hand off, walking towards the window. He could see a glimpse of the old Titan tower from here. He stared hard with his hands in his pockets, blinking back tears threatening to spill. How could she? How could HE? He'd just left years ago, never considering that the day would one day come where Starfire would find someone else. It was getting harder to control his emotions by the second.

Robin closed his eyes and cleared his throat.

"Does she love him?" he asked coolly, not bothering to turn around.

Beast Boy and Cyborg gaped at each other, unsure of how to answer.

"She..she agreed to marry him Robin." Beast Boy finally spoke.

Robin turned around and looked at him. "That's not what I asked."

Raven took a few steps towards him. She hadn't been able to easily read Starfire's feelings enough to know weather she was actually in love with Jake, but she did know one thing.

"Even if she does..it's not as much as she loved you." she said softly.

Robin swallowed hard. He couldn't take this. He had to see her.

"Where is she." he demanded, rather than asked.

"Robin no. You'll just confuse he-" Raven began once more.

"To hell with that! I need..I need to know. I need to see her. Please. I need to just talk to her."

Raven frowned, "Talk about what Robin?"

He groaned. "I don't know! I just.." he thought..searching his mind. "I just want to know if she loves him..I wanna see her Raven."

Raven sighed. She looked at Cyborg and Beast Boy behind her, they nodded.

"Fine. We'll take you."

Robin's eyes widened and he mustered an appreciative smile. He pulled Raven into a quick hug and mumbled, "Thanks."

TTTTT

"Okay. We're here man.." Cyborg said, shutting off the engine.

Robin sat in the back seat, his eyes glued to the apartment Raven pointed out.

It was the only one with a light still on. She was awake. She was so close.

Robin suddenly felt dizzy. This was all happening so fast.

"What..what do I say?" he asked suddenly.

"Hey..you asked to come here dude." Beast Boy patted him on the back.

He was right. Robin got out of the car and steadied himself. This was it.

TTTTT

Starfire sat on her couch, her left hand extended in front of her. She looked at the technically beautiful ring now adorning her finger and sighed. She tried picturing her life with Jake. Married to him. Having his children. Giving herself completely to him. Then again, she'd always fantasized about all those things with someone else. Someone from her past.

"Robin.." she whispered faintly, closing her eyes. She wondered where he was. If he was happy. If he, like her, was in a relationship. Suddenly a tinge of envy formed in the pit of her stomach.

She scolded herself mentally, she had no business feeling any type of jealousy towards a man that was not Jake, especially when that man had been out of her life for a long time.

She still thought of him though. When the nights were especially silent, her mind would always remember Robin. Everything about him, his smirks, his kisses and touches, his hidden tenderness, all of it. These nights were Starfire's biggest secret, one she would never admit to anyone.

A knock at the door broke her thoughts.

Starfire snapped her head up. Jake had gone back to his hotel for the night, but she smiled hesitantly, thinking he might be missing her. She stood up and readjusted her lilac shorts.

Walking towards the door, she called out teasingly, "I am coming! Please be patient!"

Starfire giggled, as she pulled the door open she began to speak, "I see you could not stay aw-"

Her voice faltered and her smile diminished. She gripped the door for support, and cursed her eyes if they were playing tricks on her.

"Robin.." she whispered.

He stood at her door, hands in pockets, his lip twitching, trying to form any kind of coherent speech. He looked her in the eyes, the history between them striking each into a state of disbelief.

Robin pulled his hand out of his pocket, he finally settled for a cautionary, "Hi Star.."

The second that nickname escaped from his lips, Starfire was shocked back into reality. It took her a second to recover, but she retorted.

"Robin what in heavens are you doing here? It is..it is such a late hour and I..I have not seen you in years."

She was confused. No, that was understatement.

"I..I'm sorry." he managed, swallowing hard. He couldn't think straight, he simply started babbling. "I mean, it's so late. Did I wake you? I must have woken you, I didn't mean to, I hope you don't mind-"

"Robin." Starfire started.

"..but I really wanted to see you, maybe talk to you, about important things, such as us-not that there is! Just you individually and me individually, I mean I wouldn't be so stupid to think that after all this-"

"Robin!" she said, exasperated. "It is..it is strange to see you once more, and especially at such a time of night, but..I want my question answered. What are you doing here?"

Starfire felt her heart beat faster and faster each second she made eye contact.

Robin sighed, taking a breath. "It's..a long story. But would you hate me if I asked to come in?" he asked nervously, looking at Starfire with an almost pleading look.

Starfire looked at the boy she'd been in love with. The boy that had completely dominated her heart. Her heart swelled with tenderness, as hard as she tried to push it away.

"Is it absolutely necessary you come inside Robin?" she whispered, leaning her head against the door frame and casting her eyes down.

Robin took in Starfire's forlorn expression, he didn't want to cause her any pain. In fact he wanted to launch himself and wrap his arms around her; it had to be his protective 'Starfire Instict' that kicked in after all these years.

"I don't wanna bring anything unwanted back in your life Star.." he whispered, "Including me. But I really have to tell you so much, ask you so much. Please."

She looked up, and softly spoke. "It is urgent?"

Robin caught himself, he didn't want to be too hopeful. He nodded repeatedly.

Starfire bit her lip and met Robin's eyes once more, causing his heart to pound even more.

"Then you may come in..for a little."

* * *

**Alright guys, sorry for the short chapter, but i do love my share of cliffhangers (;**

**I'll try to update the next chapter, a slightly pivotal one, before friday, I promise :D**

**Review please? Ty to all those who do and all those who read my stories :)**_  
_


	8. Chapter 7

**Alright, may not be BEFORE Friday, but I figured ON Friday would be okay :)**

**From here on, things'll be picking up so enjoy :D  
**

Chapter 7

"Come. Sit.." Starfire sat down on her couch, back rigid and hands in her lap. Robin began to awkwardly sit next to her.

"No..Over there." she pointed at the loveseat across from her.

"Oh.." Robin walked over to the loveseat, hurt that she didn't even want him near her.

Starfire cleared her throat and attempted to avoid eye contact with Robin, "Well Robin, I am listening. What is it that you have you tell me?"

Robin leaned forward and clasped his hands together between his legs. "Look Star..I..I.." he began.

What was he supposed to say? 'I still love you, your fiance's a psycho, so take me instead'?

Robin frowned at his ridiculous thought.

"You what Robin?"

"I was...in the neighborhood?" he tried.

"Oh? So you are telling me, after all this time you have suddenly come to 'the neighborhood' as you call it, in search of me of all the people?" Starfire said, crossing her arms, obviously annoyed.

"Well..no. I had to talk to you."

"About?"

"Things.." Robin mumbled, panicking. He really should have planned what he was going to say.

Starfire narrowed her eyes. She became even more flustered. "Things? Robin Things? Honestly is there nothing more specific you would like to say?"

"I..I.."

"No. You know what? Enlighten me Robin, how did you even know where I live?"

Robin gnawed on his lip, he wasn't sure wheather he to give his friends away just yet.

"Yellow Pages?" he said stupidly, hoping it would quell Starfire's rising agitation.

"Well that is impossible Robin, considering I have been living here exactly one Earth day." Starfire said, her voice quavering.

"Oh..I didn't think-"  
"No! You most definitely did not think!" Starfire finally yelled, throwing herself back against the couch.

"Look Star.." Robin frowned, irritated. She wasn't allowing to get a word out.

"No, no looking for me!"

Robin clenched his teeth, "You're not letting me—"

You come into my home and you said you have urgent issues to discuss with me, and if you do not then I shall suggest that you take your lea-"

"God Starfire I MISSED you that's all!" he finally yelled, exasperated, sharply standing from his seat.

Starfire's eyes widened, and she managed to look into Robin's eyes. He looked at her with an intensity reminiscent of their final days together five years ago.

"Oh.." she whispered.

"I..I'm sorry Star, I didn't mean to ambush you with that." Robin said, shaking his head and sitting back down.

Starfire hugged herself and looked away. The nostalgia she felt at the moment, almost drowned her.

"Robin..It is just that I am overwhelmed.." she said at last. "I have not seen you for many years, and the last time we spoke..it was good bye."

"I know..I know.."

Starfire sighed, she asked hesitantly, "When did you come back?"

Robin gave her a small sad smile, glad she was questioning him instead of shooing him out the door. "I..uh..I came back from Germany about six months ago. I took an extra year. I figured..I figured everyone worth coming back for was gone." He met her eye and and gave her a knowing look.

Starfire dropped her gaze, he leaned in. "I actually..I ran into Raven a few days ago."

"You did? Raven? But she has not told me anything! How could she withhold such information from-"

"Star..Star it's okay. I asked her not to. I didn't want you to know..not yet."

"But why?"

"Because you had a new life. And I wasn't sure I wanted to intervene." Robin spoke, his words unintentionally bitter.

"What..what do you mean by new life Robin?" Starfire questioned, her eyes drifting away so he may not see the yearning threatening to form.

"She told me about you..where you'd lived..your future as a kindergarten teacher..your new.." Robin gazed down and inadvertently clenched his teeth, "Your new fiance."

Starfire's looked surprised for a moment, she looked down at her engagement ring. She realized she had completely forgotten about it until Robin had brought it up.

"Oh..yes..yes.." she said. Robin could have sworn he heard a hint of disappointment in her voice. He brushed it off though, blaming it on his head. Robin wondered how he could bring the Jake subject up with her, Raven's vision, everything. He simply didn't know how. But what he did know was that he wanted to stay and talk to her all night, even about mustard if she wanted to.

"Tell me about him Star." he said, as gently as possible.

Starfire looked very uncomfortable, "I am not sure I should Robin. Considering our history."

Robin sighed, "To be honest Star, I...I still care for you so very much. But I miss you. I miss being around you. And I'd like..to be here for you if you need me. As your friend if that's what you want.."

He had not planned for those words to come out of his mouth. He hadn't expected to offer his friendship to her. He didn't want just friendship. He wanted her, for him all to himself.

But she lit up, and her gorgeous eyes widened and she rushed over to him, pulling him up towards her, "Oh Robin..Do you truly mean it? You wish to be my friend?"

And just like that, he saw the opportunity. The opportunity to step back into her life. To care for her, to watch over and..like he had so many years ago, when the Titans were just starting out, love her from a considerable distance.

Robin brushed a hair behind Starfire's ear. He smiled, looking at her longingly.

"Yeah Star..Besides," he added. "I've really missed our friends too."

Starfire resisted with all her Tamaranian might throwing her arms around Robin and giving him a bone crushing hug, but she resisted, crossing her arms and clearing her throat instead.

"Very well Robin," she smiled radiantly. "We shall become friends once more. Would you care for a late meal? I have gotten very acceptable at the Earthly cuisine."

His smile widened, "I'd love some Star.."

TTTTT

Starfire laughed, clutching Robin's shoulder for support with one hand and her fork with the other.

"Oh Robin you DO remember! I must say your old uniform was by far the most comfortable article of clothing I have ever worn!"

Robin laughed heartedly at the memory. He'd come back from his quest to find all his friends and Starfire dressed in his uniform.

"Well Star, you pulled it off far better than I ever did." her grinned, shoving a spoonful of fluffy rice and glazed chicken in his mouth, "I gotta say.." Robin said, mouth full and bulging, "This is delicious Star, you gonna cook for me like this again?" he asked cheekily.

Starfire grabbed a napkin and dabbed her mouth delicately, "If you are a good friend, I just might Robin." Once her mouth was clean, she dove back into her plate, jamming spoonfuls of food in.

"Wow..Hungry I'm guessing?" Robin raised an eyebrow. "I haven't seen you eat like this in years."

Starfire swallowed, "Well I have not had much to eat for dinner this afternoon. It is just..a lot of events transpired."

"Events?"

"Ehh..well Our friends were over and I had to serve them and be an appropriate hostess and Jake proposed and I had to pack the doggy bags for Cyborg and-"

"Star? It's okay. You can..talk to me about him you know." Robin said, gripping his fork as he attempted to shove the jealousy threatening to arise.

"I can?"

"Mhm.. I'm..your friend remember?"

Referring to himself as her 'friend' had never bothered Robin more. He knew in the back of his mind, he was not going to be able to keep this up forever.

"Well..he is a very nice man. He is studying to become a lawyer. I suppose you could say he is studying to be a hero of some form yes?" she said, trying to lighten the mood.

"Er..yeah. I guess. I don't know. Is he nice to you?" he asked abruptly.

"Oh..yes. Yes he is very courteous towards me Robin. Why do you ask?"

"No..nothing I just wanted to make sure he was. Are..are you happy with him Star?" he asked, once more unable to help his questions.

Starfire put her fork down, and finished chewing, cautiously. Her mind seemed to wander.

Finally she spoke, slowly. "Well, I suppose I am, yes.."

"You suppose?" Robin didn't want Starfire to be unhappy, but he didn't want her to be deliriously elated without him. In his heart of hearts he needed to know if she still loved him. If he still had any trace of a chance.

"Yes Robin that is what I said. Would you care for more peas?" she asked, offhandedly changing the subject.

Robin felt her getting stiff, he didn't want her becoming uncomfortable around him.

"Actually..think I could get seconds?" He grinned, "I'm still starved, and your food really hits the spot Star."

Starfire sat up and looked at Robin through twinkling eyes. "Oh Robin..why of course! I shall serve you the seconds and serve myself the fifths!" she grabbed his plate, and excitedly flew into the kitchen to serve, giggling on the way.

God how he'd missed that giggle.

TTTTT

"Star.." Robin whispered. He'd been talking to her about his job overseas, when he felt a soft thud on her shoulder and her fork clatter on the floor. They were still seated around her dining table, with her chair pulled up closer to his. He looked down to see her fast asleep, a dainty snore slip out as she readjusted herself, tucking a hand on Robin's lap.

Robin sighed contently. Here he was, his heart's only desire, asleep on him and he couldn't do anything about him. She was so close, and yet..

He grabbed her hand gently, trying to suppress the feelings surfacing once more, "Star..come on, let me get you to bed."

He looked at his watch, "Damn.." It was 3:30 am. He was exhausted but there was no other way he could've possibly dreamed about spending his night.

Robin slid his chair backwards, careful not to drop Starfire's head from his shoulder. He placed her arm over his neck and gently wrapped his arms around her legs and back. He picked up bridal style and walked her to her room. Putting her down on the bed, he grabbed a nearby blanket and covered her, tucking her in, so she would not get cold. She moaned softly, mumbling in her sleep.

Robin stood up straight in the darkness, slipping his hands in his pockets and watching Starfire for a minute. He smiled a bit.

"Night Star.." he turned and walked out, closing the door behind him. He was about to leave, when he noticed the mess they'd made in her dining room and kitchen. He glanced at his watch again. With the night he'd had today, there was no way he was going to be sleeping anytime soon, so Robin rolled up the sleeves of his white button and began clearing the dishes.

Little did he know, someone was watching him.

* * *

**Ooooohh Who could it BE? XD**


	9. Chapter 8

**Hey guys. Sorry for taking a while. I've had a serious case of writer's block and inspiration hit all at the same time. I don't know if that's ever happened to any of you guys? You can't seem to figure out how to continue the stories you already have posted/started, but you get a pretty good idea for a new one? yeah lol**

**Well here is the next chapter, it took me a while to crank it out. Hopefully it's good, let me know what you think :)  
**

Chapter 8

Starfire quietly pulled open her bedroom door, careful not to cause it to creak. She peeked out, scanning her dining room. It was then she saw Robin, his back turned to her, while he washed the dishes. He was humming softly.

A sigh escaped Starfire as she leaned her head against the door frame.

She let her mind wander for a moment, wander to a world where Robin had never left, where they had gotten married and that was her husband in there washing dishes for her. A world where once he was finished, he would slip his shoes off, strip his clothing off and crawl in bed with her.

But this was reality. And she was engaged. And Robin was her friend. Only her friend.

Starfire took one last look at Robin and silently pushed the door closed. She crawled back into bed, covering herself and breathing quietly. She closed her eyes and listened intently. If she tried hard enough, she heard Robin's hum.

Her head cleared and an odd comfort took over her. She was intent on staying awake until Robin left, but soon, she was asleep.

TTTTT

"Hey how'd it go?"

"Sorry, sorry I know it's late but I..I don't exactly know who to talk to about this Raven." Robin said into his phone, silently walking to his apartment after he'd left Starfire.

"It's okay Robin. I understand your need to be a complete woman and tell me every detail of the night." Raven said dryly.

Robin chuckled.

"Wow. A real laugh. Haven't heard one of those from you yet. Must have gone well. Is she leaving Jake or something?"

"Er..not exactly." Robin said hesitantly.

"You did tell her about her potentially psychotic fiance did you not?"

"Well.."

"Robin that was your entire purpose of going there!"

"No! I told you I just wanted to see her. Besides..I didn't wanna ruin the conversation with, 'Hey Star, I still love you, your fiance's crazy, run away with me.'"

Raven was quiet for a few seconds. "So what happened."

"We talked..We..spent the night talking and reminiscing and..being together." Robin kicked an empty can in front of him remembering his night.

"And?"

"I accidentally offered to be her friend." Robin admitted.

"Accidentally?"

"God Raven I don't wanna be her friend! I wanna be..hers." He said, on the verge of whining.

Raven sighed. "I know. Now, I think the golden question is, are you going to get her back?"

Robin chewed on his lower lip gently, stopping at a dark intersection. "I honestly want her back with me Raven."

"Well stop being a sissy about it and make it happen Boy Wonder." Raven yawned.

He laughed. "It's not that simple. I feel like I'm lying to her. There's the matter of her fiance and the fact that she thinks we're just friends."

"Right. You and Star. Just friends. Because that worked out so well last time."

Robin came to his apartment, slowly walking up the stairs. "I don't know. Maybe. Let's just..focus on getting this Jake guy out of her life."

"Oh don't worry. Chances are you'll meet him soon enough."

Robin cursed. "Not looking forward to that at all Raven."

TTTTT

The next morning, Robin woke up to an ascending beeping noise. He groaned, rolling over and taking his phone off his bed side table.

He flipped it open and mumbled, "Hello?"

"Good morning Robin." Starfire spoke on the other line, "Were you still resting? Have I woken you?"

Robin shot up and smiled, "No! No Star I'm good. What's up?"

"Well..You told me last night that you have already done the 'catching up' with Cyborg and Beast Boy and Raven, but I was hoping you may join us on a picnic at the park like the old times tomorrow?" she asked rapidly, Robin heard a hint of anxiety in her voice.

He was about to agree gladly when she kept going, "And you also agreed you are to be my friend and I was hoping my friend Robin would meet and approve of my..my fiance."

Robin sighed, hating himself for forgetting the existence of this guy. "Yeah..yeah sure Star. I'd love to."

"Are you positive Robin? You do not have to.."

Robin forced his tone to be cheerful. "No..No Star I'm really looking forward to it."

She paused, when she spoke again he was sure she'd smiled, "Glorious! I will see you soon!"

"Alright Star."

He hung up and threw himself back into bed. He had no idea how to cope with meeting this guy.

TTTTT

"Alright buddy, ya ready? We're here!" Beast Boy said as they arrived at the park.

Robin nodded. "I guess.."

Beast Boy had picked him up to go that morning. But before they got out of the car, Robin was itching to ask his old friend a question.

"Hey, Beast Boy..Is anything..you know..going on between you and Raven?"

Beast Boy's eyes widened to twice their size, and his mouth dropped.

"No! Why? Did she say something?"

Robin chuckled. "No..no nothing like that. I just noticed some..strange vibes between you two."

"Vibes?" Beast Boy grinned. "Alright! Vibes!"

Robin crossed his arms. "You like her don't ya?"

Beast Boy smiled sheepishly, "Yeah, I guess."

"You GUESS?"

"Alright! I like Raven. But..she's Raven. She used to throw me out of windows."

Robin grinned, "Hey the ones who like you are always meanest to you remember?"

"In kindergarten man!"

Robin smirked, opening his car door.

"Right."

Robin and Beast Boy began walking up to Starfire. They saw her from a distance. She was at a nearby picnic table setting up the food and a man next to her was setting up a grill.

Robin's entire body stiffened. He scanned the guy, his jeans, his polo shirt, the serious expression on his face. This was Jake. He saw him call over his shoulder to Starfire, when she didn't hear he saw him possessively pull her arm towards him. Robin clenched his teeth. He was immediately mistrusting of him.

Starfire pulled her arm away and turned to see Robin. She smiled, waving. "Hello friends!"

Robin forced a smile. "Hey Star."

She grabbed his hand and pulled him towards Jake. Robin mentally prepared himself to refrain from punching him in the face.

"Jake, you have met my other friends, this is Robin, he has recently come back into town-"

Jake eyed Robin up and down and stuck his hand out, "Ahh..the ex boyfriend." He said coolly, Robin was caught off guard, however, he gripped his hand firmly and shook it. He thought Jake looked familiar though. He just couldn't place from where.

"Yup." Robin said, holding in a smirk. He didn't want to cause any tension for Starfire's sake, she began looking uncomfortable. So he cleared his throat and swallowed his pride for the girl he loved.

He retracted his hand and shoved them in his pockets, he managed a tight smile, looking Jake in the eye he said, "Just friends now."

Jake raised an eyebrow and smiled cockily, "Good to hear. Good to hear."

Robin narrowed his eyes and Jake and began walking towards the grill. "So having trouble setting this up I see."

Jake tilted his head, and stood in front of the grill. "No. I'm fine. It's almost done."

"Oh?"

"Yeah."

"Sure you don't need help man?" Robin asked, irritating Jake with his too friendly tone and smirk.

"No, don't you touch it! It's mine!" Jake burst out, eyeballs bulging, and a vein popping up in his forehead and throat. This outburst earned him strange looks from Starfire and Beast Boy.

It was this that made Robin realize something.

_Gotcha, _he thought.


	10. Chapter 9

**Hey guys! So sorry it's taking me forever to update this, I recently updated "Hormones", but I seem to be lacking inspiration for this story :/**

**I'm determined to finish it though, for those of you who enjoy it, bear with me as I try to get this story finished.**

**Oh! i also have a new story I just started, I'm not sure when I'll be posting though, I don't wanna take forever to update BOTH stories.**

**Anyway, here it is, hope you enjoy.**

Chapter 9

Robin waited until Jake and Starfire were grilling the hamburgers. He turned to Cyborg and tried to casually talk to him before anyone noticed.

"Psst. Cyborg." Robin hissed.

Cyborg turned around, a hot dog hanging out of his mouth, "Hmm?"

"I need you to check out Stanley Percher."

"Who now?"

"Just. Do. It." Robin mumbled through clenched teeth. "I'll explain later."

Cyborg nodded and diligently shoved another hot dog within his jaws.

TTTTT

They sat down at a nearby picnic table when Jake finished grilling the hamburgers. Starfire delicately set the table, even though they were outdoors at a wooden table.

Robin insisted on helping her; their hands brushed a few times and he was immensely pleased with himself when he noticed a light blush spread on her cheeks. He grinned at her a few times, once when Jake was looking. Robin relished in the scowl on his face.

But he had seen that scowl before. Now he knew where. Now he knew how he was going to out this guy.

"I thank you Robin, you are very helpful." Starfire said politely, however, her smile made the butterflies in his stomach multiply.

"No problem Star."

They sat down, talking animatedly about the day ahead. All of them except for Jake.

"We should play football!"

"No, soccer!"

"I'll just go read."

"Perhaps a nice board game in the sunshine?"

Robin grinned, this picture was perfect, except for the unwanted man interfering in it.

"Starfire, sweetheart, you don't come to the park to play an indoor game. To be blunt it's a quite dim suggestion." Jake said, low enough for Starfire to hear. And Robin.

Starfire stiffened and clenched her teeth. Unable to say anything.

Robin, however, could in no way stay quiet. He threw Jake a dirty look and snapped, "Hey. Don't talk to her like that."

Jake looked taken aback by this, his face reddened slightly. The other Titans turned to look at the conflict threatening to rise.

Starfire looked from Jake to Robin and tried to quell the tension, "Robin please. Enjoy your hamburgers and Jake, we will speak of this later, in private. Pass the mustard, please?"

Robin gaped at her, he couldn't believe she was so calm about this.

"Starfire! He just-"

"I asked you to pass the mustard, _Friend _Robin."

That shut him up. He couldn't say anything once she stung him with that word. Friend.

He gave Jake another dirty look that was gladly returned and begrudgingly passed Starfire the mustard.

Beast Boy cleared his throat and tried to lighten the mood, however, he completely went about the wrong way of doing so.

"So Star, when's the weddin—ow! Dammit Rae." He grumbled as she kicked him in the shin under the table.

Starfire set her burger down and looked to Jake, acting as if no rude events had transpired. He took her hand and looked to them.

"Well, Starfire and I talked of it last night and we decided to get married as soon as possible, considering I'm transferring to a university here just to be closer to her and finish law school."

Robin stared at his plastic plate, tracing the tacky designs on it, trying hard to ignore the conversation going on. It was not possible.

"Well friends, we will be having a small intimate ceremony with very close friends and family. And..we have decided to marry in the summer. That is a popular wedding season no?"

Robin's head shot up. _Summer?, _He panicked.

"When in summer Starfire?" he asked, his voice colder than he'd intended.

She looked at him, almost sad to tell him the news. "The first of June.

The hardest feat Robin's ever had to accomplish was retaining his composure when the girl he loves told him she was marrying someone else, someone sitting right in front of him, in two months.

He simply watched her and lowered his gaze, nodding as if to assure her he'd heard her.

Cyborg spoke the words that were screaming in Robin's mind.

"Star? Don't you think that's a little too soon?"

Jake's hand shot up to grab Starfire around the waist and pull her in close, to Robin's demise. "That's our business. We are in love. We will be getting married. Soon."

Cyborg raised an eyebrow and jammed a cheeseburger into his mouth before his temper got the best of him.

"I agree with Cyborg." Raven spit out. Jake narrowed his eyes at her, but before he could speak, Starfire stood from the table abruptly.

"You are all my friends, and I would like for you to be happy that I am getting married. If you are not, I suggest you do not come to wedding. Excuse me. Jake I am ready to go." She threw Robin a rueful look before stalking off to the car she and Jake had come in.

Robin watched them walk away, he watched Jake put his hand on the small of Starfire's back, just like he used to.

He felt a bitter feeling rising in his throat.

"She can't marry him. I'm not letting her."

Beast Boy patted him on the back, "Robin you heard her. She's getting pissed that we're all interfering with her life. You can't forbid her to do anything."

Raven nodded, "She's not yours anymore Robin. You need to get your temper in check and be patient. We'll get that guy out of her life, don't worry."

Robin shook his head, "How are we supposed to tell her what we know? Huh? I'm not hiding this from her any longer guys."

"Yes. Yes you will. Because if you go and be an idiot and tell her now, she'll never believe you. Not without proof." Raven stated logically.

Robin sighed, "Yeah, that's right. But..what if I told you we could get proof?"

Raven, Cyborg and Beast Boy watched him carefully.

"What do you mean Rob?" Cyborg finally asked.

Robin rubbed his temples, relieving the intense amount of stress that had been instilled the past few days.

"The thing is..I swear I've seen this guy before."

Raven raised an eyebrow, "Explain."

"The thing is, I was in Gotham for a few months about three years ago, I worked at the police station before I was able to go back to Germany. I was in charge of sorting criminal records, and I saw thousands of faces everyday, all I had to do was click and sort so I never really payed attention to them. But one day, I tagged along for an arrest with a detective friend of mine. He was sent to investigate the homicide of a woman. And I helped out with the case, and we eventually tracked it back to a boyfriend. Nobody knew she even had a boyfriend, but when we finally got enough evidence, everything pointed to a Stanley Percher. We never found him. But that face, that face jumped back to me when I first saw Jake." Robin finished and put his head down, trying to sort his thoughts out.

Beast Boy and Raven looked at each other, "The homicide of a woman? Dude that's so creepy. It's completely in sync with Raven's vision."

Robin nodded, "That's why we need to find out more. As soon as possible. And apologize to Star. We don't need her alienating herself from us."

"Don't you mean from you?" Cyborg snorted. "I elect Robin to go apologize to Starfire on our behalf!"

Robin scowled, "What?"

Cyborg smirked, "You know you just want some alone time with Star. Don't act like we're not doing you a favor."

Robin shook his head, "I don't know. I'd rather do some research on this 'Jake' guy."

Raven sighed, "Robin, go talk to Starfire. We'll worry about Stanley/Jake. We'll meet up later this week Cyborg and Beast Boy's poor excuse for a house."

"Hey! I clean!" Beast Boy whined.

"Right."

Robin grabbed his burger and shook his head, mumbling, "I don't know."

Beast Boy scoffed dramatically, "Uh. Yeah. When you ask Robin if he's gonna go see Starfire, the answer's I don't know. Right."

TTTTT

"Anything Cyborg?" Raven asked, peering at the screen over his shoulder.

He shook his head, "Not yet."

Raven, Beast Boy and Cyborg and had met up a few days after the disastrous 'picnic' to get more information on Jake. They hadn't heard from Robin or Starfire since.

Raven went back upstairs and walked past Beast Boy and took the remote from him, plopping down next to him on the couch.

"Hey!" He whined. "Raven I don't wanna watch some weird tea infomercial!

She raised an eyebrow, smirking. "Fine, we can watch the home shopping network. I need a new teapot."

"Rae, if you needed a teapot, you shoulda just told me. I would've gotten you one." Beast Boy nudged her grinning. He couldn't help but scan her body, draped on the couch, extending her creamy legs in front of her, propped up on the coffee table. She was wearing a pair of dark blue baggy shorts and a gray t-shirt. Her hair was pulled back into a loose ponytail and looked as if she hadn't put any effort in whatsoever.

Yet she still looked incredibly desirable.

Beast Boy cleared his throat and placed his hands in his lap, focusing on the TV.

"Is something wrong? You haven't sadly attempted to insult my tastes in television programming yet?"

Beast Boy shook his head, staying silent. Raven swore she saw him blush.


	11. Chapter 10

**Hello! So sorry for the short chapter, but I really wanted to update in case I'm not able to later in the week, so! here it is, hope it's to your taste.**

Chapter 10

Robin shoved his head into his pillow, grabbing his phone for the fifth time that minute, checking if Starfire had called...for the fifth time that minute.

But he hadn't either. He just couldn't face her, not yet. She'd been so cold. But he had been too. What did she expect? She'd just told him she was getting married incredibly soon.

He groaned yet again and jammed his head into his pillow. Yet again.

Suddenly he felt something soft and heavy land on him.

"Ugh! What the hell?" He threw the pillow off his head and looked up to see a grinning Mallory straddling him.

"Surprise Richie!"

Robin glared at her, his impatience getting the best of him, "Mallory. Stop. Breaking. Into my DAMN house!" He firmly pushed her off and stood up. She landed on the bed and simply pouted at him.

"What..what did I do?" she squeaked.

Robin sighed and rubbed his eyes. He didn't mean to take it out on her, but he couldn't drag her along any longer.

"Look, I just..I don't really wanna see you anymore. I'm sorry."

She stayed silent and narrowed her eyes at him. Then she jumped up and poked him in the chest, "It's that ugly purple haired girl that was here last night wasn't it?" She questioned, her voice escalating by the second.

Robin had the urge to laugh. "Me and Raven? Right."

"Oh THAT'S the slut's name!"

Robin frowned, "Hey, she's not a slut Mallory, watch how you talk about others. We're just fr-"

"Oh please Richie. You like her and you want her don't you? Don't you?"

"What? C'mon-"

"Admit it! I knew it!"

Robin sighed and resisted the urge to laugh, "Yeah. Sure Mallory. I'm completely enthralled by Raven. I just love the odd hair color."

However, she didn't catch the not-so-subtle sarcasm in his voice. Mallory gasped and stomped towards the door, snatching her purse from the couch.

"I knew it! I knew it!" She hollered. "We're OVER Richie. Good bye!"

With that, she slammed the door closed behind her and stomped down the hallway, leaving a very stunned Robin behind.

"What the hell.." he whispered in confusion. "Well as long as it's over."

He groaned once more and threw himself onto his bed, glad that nobody would be interrupting him anymore.

TTTTT

"Oh sweetheart, I'm so sorry your friends weren't as supportive as you'd like them to be." Jake stroked Starfire's cheek as she looked solemnly out the window.

"I am sorry too. I only want them to be happy I am..happy." She looked down and fiddled with her ring. Jake grabbed her right hand and took it away.

"Don't do that Kori. It's a very expensive ring, you could break it."

Starfire glared at him and snatched her hand away, "Jake I can tolerate very much, but I will NOT tolerate you constantly telling me what to do. If we are to get married, this needs to stop!"

Jake backed away, his eyes bulging and his face turning red. He turned his head and swallowed several times.

Breathing heavily, he looked to Starfire and tilted his head. He was trying to soften his voice but there was a harsh edge to it as he grabbed her hand once more, "I..I'm sorry. We'll be okay. I'm just trying to take care of you babe."

Starfire sighed and nodded, "I understand. At least you are here for me.."

Jake pecked her on the lips and smiled. "Good. I'm glad you understand."

Starfire looked out the window once more. Jake stroked her hand gently and sat with her. She felt awful for wishing it was another hand stroking hers.

TTTTT

"Hey guys." Robin mumbled as he pulled up a seat next to Raven. Cyborg and Beast Boy eyed him carefully.

"I'm guessing you still haven't been to see her, have you man?"

Robin shook his head. It'd been almost a week since the picnic and he still hadn't packed up the courage to even call Starfire. He'd reluctantly agreed to meet Cyborg, Raven and Beast Boy to help out with the Jake/Stanley issue. They'd met at their old pizza hangout, watching the cars go by as they sat near the street. Robin sighed and played with a drink Beast Boy had ordered for him.

Raven frowned and placed a supportive hand on his shoulder.

"Don't keep moping, it's-"

She didn't have a chance to finish her sentence; a frustrated shriek erupted from behind her.

Raven turned around to reveal a seething blonde with narrowed eyes at her and Robin.

"I told you I knew it! I knew it!"

Raven looked irritated, but confused at Mallory's random burst of rage.

"What-"

Mallory pointed an accusing finger at Raven's hand. "I see you finally got together! You couldn't even wait a week until we broke up Richie? God!" She flipped her hair and placed her hands on her hips and leaned in close to Raven.

"Are you happy? He told me alll about your ongoing secret affair!"

At these words, Cyborg's jaw dropped and Beast Boy's expression darkened. Raven furrowed her eyebrows in disbelief and snatched her hand from Robin's shoulder. Robin groaned and rubbed his temples, unable to take the escalating stress.

"What!" Raven exclaimed. Her gaze drifted to Beast Boy. Although Cyborg looked completely entertained by the exchange, Beast Boy's lips were in a tight line and his arms were crossed. Raven thought he looked a shade darker than before.

Mallory flipped her hair once again and stood up straight. "It's okay! You so don't have to pretend anymore! Richie told me EVERYTHING. I don't care. Good bye! I hope you too are very happy together! Hmph!" She tilted her head up and walked away, throwing Robin one last dirty look.

Robin just shook his head and put it down on the table. He mumbled, "I really don't have time for this."

Raven became very uncomfortable, she shifted in her seat and placed her hands in her lap.

There was a tense silence until Cyborg broke it, "Soooo...Raven, how long you and Robin been, ya know?" He waggled his eyebrows and burst out laughing at the ridiculous thought.

Robin's head shot up and he simply looked at Cyborg. Beast Boy, however, got up suddenly and pulled a twenty out of his wallet, throwing it carelessly on the table.

He pushed his chair out of his way, "Congrats." He mumbled coldly, before stalking off into the street.


	12. Chapter 11

**Hello! Here's the next chapter. Thank you guys so much for reading and reviewing. I gotta say the writer's block for this story faded a bit so glad that happened :D**

Chapter 11

Raven frowned at Beast Boy's receding shape. Although she was afraid to ask, she looked from Robin to Cyborg and managed to nervously blurt out, "He couldn't have bought that. Could he?"

Cyborg shrugged, "You know BB. Just strange, I'll check on him when I get home. Now, About Jake? Or Stanley I guess."

Robin sat up and cleared his throat, "Yeah what'd you find?"

Cyborg slumped his shoulders and his mouth twitched as he tried to find the right words. He dug around in his backpack, pulling out a slim manila folder. "Well there it is. Ol' Jake is Stanley Pencher. You were right Rob."

Robin dove for the folder, spreading the multiple papers inside it on the table.

"Holy Shit. That is him. That's the guy!" Robin panted, tapping the candid shot of a man with bloodshot eyes. It was a grainy black and white picture of a young looking man crossing the street. Although the resolution wasn't perfect, Robin knew. That was Jake. The police department In Gotham had followed a few leads, but after this photograph was taken, they were all dead ends.

Cyborg shook his head, "Yeah. And the thing is, this guy's claiming to be in his twenties. He's 34."

Raven gaped, "What? What does he want with Star? What does he want by posing as a law student?"

Cyborg shook his head once more, "No Raven, he's not posing. Not exactly. He has a law degree from the University of Indiana."

Robin rubbed his eyes, the lack of sleep finally getting to him, "So he's what, a smart psychopath?"

"Er..I'm not sure. From what I got to piece together, he grew up in a nice house, with a nice family, in a nice home."

Raven raised an eyebrow, "Then what? There was no toy in the Froot Loops box one day and he just snapped?"

"No. The first recorded incident was the beating of a female classmate in '98. There was some altercation and a girl named Amanda Jones was found in her dorm, passed out with a mild concussion. She pressed charges against 'Stanley' when she got out of the hospital, but the university intervened and simply put him on academic probation. He claimed he was trying to protect her from herself."

Robin sank into his chair and exhaled, "God..I..It had to be him. Lissie. He _killed _her and now he's alone somewhere with Starfire. I can't let this happen. No. I'm going to see her." Robin stood up quickly, knocking his chair over in the process.

Cyborg followed suit and grabbed Robin's arm firmly. "Robin. Calm down. We don't know anything yet."

"Cyborg what the hell? Don't know anything? We know Starfire's fiance's a _psycho_ and we're doing nothing about it! Let go!"

"No. You're not thinking clearly. All we know is he beat up a girl. As of right now, we can't directly prove he was involved with any kind of murder."

Robin shook his head. "I don't care. I'm still going to talk to her."

"Fine. But don't you say anything about this to her Robin. Not yet."

"_Why?"_ Robin pleaded.

"Because she won't believe you." Cyborg stated quietly.

Robin stopped struggling and looked away. "Fine." he mumbled before tearing his arm away and storming down the street.

TTTTT

Robin ran up the stairs to Starfire's apartment, two at a time, too impatient to wait for the elevator. He finally made it to her door and repeatedly pushed the buzzer, hoping to God nobody was there with her. He rested his hands on his knees, catching his breath and waited.

He didn't hear footsteps.

Robin began panicking, _What if he took her away?_

But the door slowly creaking open, only a slightly ajar to reveal Starfire's careful face.

Her eyes were watery and puffy. Her lips were slightly cracked and a faint shade of washed out pink. Robin stood up straight and realized she'd been crying.

"Star.." he began and took a step forward.

She looked away and tried to mask her quivering voice, "What do you require Robin?"

He nearly winced at her cold tone. "I just..wanted to talk to you. Apologize. If you let me."

Starfire kept her gaze on the floor, "Fine. I am listening."

Robin shook his head and placed his hand gently on the door, "No Star. Can I please come in?"

"Why?"

"Because."

"That is not an appropriate answer Robin."

"Starfire please." He whispered.

She sighed and opened the door, making a large enough gap so that Robin could get in.

He walked into her living room, hands shoved in his pockets. He turned around to face her, only to be met with her arms firmly crossed across her chest and her eyes refusing to meet his.

"I'm..I'm really sorry Star. I'm sorry I'm not being as.." Robin swallowed, trying to loosen the tension in his jaw as he said the next few words, "As supportive as I should be. I'm your..friend. Like I said. I should be acting like it."

Starfire's head shot up and she took a step towards Robin. "Yes! You said you are to be my _friend, _Robin! But you have been acting like the jealous former boyfriend instead!"

Robin stared at her and he felt his face get hot. "I..I..No I haven't!" He yelled defensively.

"Yes. Yes you have. It is not appreciated because it tampers with my feelings and causes things to be so much harder!" She snapped. Robin's eyes widened at her unintended confession. Starfire was still fuming.

"What..what do you mean Starfire?" he asked carefully.

Starfire tensed up and crossed her arms once more, "I..do not mean anything. You have not been very supportive that is all."

Robin watched her chest rise and fall and felt his heart swell when he noticed a blush creep all over her cheeks.

"No. No tell me why you're so upset." He took a cautious step towards her, closing the distance between them.

Starfire continued looking at the wall, her head turned away. She shook her head stubbornly.

Robin reached out and took her elbow gently, "I'm not supportive because I don't want you with Jake." Starfire turned her head slowly and dropped her arms, her lips parted slightly. Her emerald eyes finally made contact with Robin's.

"Robin I have told you Jake is-"

"I want you with me." Robin cut her off quietly, sliding his hand down to her waist.

Starfire's eyes glazed and she frowned, shaking her head. "No. No you cannot say that."

Robin smirked, "I just did."

Starfire bit her lip, "You should not have." Her arm rested on Robin's forearm, still clutching her waist.

Robin leaned down, inching closer to Starfire's lips. She watched him as he pulled her in closer.

"Robin.." she spoke silently, shaking her head and wrapping her arms around his neck.

Robin shook his head and gently brushed her lips with his. Starfire remained still, but after a few seconds she sighed contentedly and kissed him back. Robin smiled and dove back in, gladly re-capturing her lips in firmer hold.


	13. Chapter 12

**Heh. Bit of drama in this chapter. But ya know, if it makes you giggle or smirk, or go "Yeah!" or "Ooooh." I've done what I intended XD**

**Enjoy!**

Chapter 12

Robin held on to Starfire, tightening his grip on her waist and pulling her closer. He felt a wave of relief pass over his entire body as she moved her lips against his, arching her back so she would be closer. His throat begin to tickle, threatening to burst into joyful laughter, but no; Robin in no way wanted to ruin this kiss.

But Starfire did.

She shook her head and slowly pulled away, gazing at Robin with half lidded eyes, "Robin.."

"What is it Star?" He mumbled, trying to adjust his mind to the desperately rejected distance between them.

Starfire pulled away completely, dragging Robin's hands away from her waist and taking a long step back, "I cannot. Robin this is wrong."

Robin went for her hand, but she took it away and her eyes began brimming with tears. He tried again and managed to grab her left hand; again, he tugged her closer once more. Yet again, Starfire refused eye contact, but Robin pulled her in regardless.

"Why?" He challenged quietly.

Starfire bit her lip and looked into his eyes. She snatched her hand away and turned it over, displaying the back of it in front of Robin's face.

"_This_ is why Robin. I am betrothed to another man. He is the only man I should be doing the kissing with. It is an intimate act betwe-"

"I know what kissing is Starfire." Robin snapped. He grabbed her wrist, and rapidly took off the engagement ring on her finger. He threw it across the room.

Starfire gaped at him. "Robin!"

"No. You listen to me, you love me. I know you love me and if you didn't, your lips would never have come in contact with mine. You're a Tamaranian. You're an awful liar and you're terrible at hiding your damn feelings!"

Starfire narrowed her eyes and poked Robin in the chest, "Do not tell me what I am Robin!"

He mimicked her tone, "Do not tell _me_ who you're not! You're not marrying this Jake person."

"Oh I'm not?" Starfire seethed, crossing her arms and taking a step towards Robin.

Robin mirrored her motions and stepped closer. He kept his tone solid and even, "No, you're not."

They gazed at each other what seemed an eternity, Robin readjusted his jaw and Starfire swallowed hard. They were once more, inches away.

"I suggest you keep your distance."

Robin smirked, "Why? Can't keep your distance?"

"You think yourself too cocky _friend_ Robin."

Robin narrowed his eyes at her and leaned his head closer, "Friends...don't stick their tongues in their friends mouths."

Starfire closed and reopened her mouth, finally she settled on, "You were the one to begin Robin!"

"That's the best you got? You started it?"

"It is the truth."

"It is complete bullshit. You wanted me to kiss you. Otherwise you wouldn't have kissed me back.

Starfire sighed and shook her head once more, "It does not change the matter that I am betrothed to another Robin."

Robin winced. Every single time, he let himself forget about the unwanted presence in Starfire's life and every single time, the sheer mention of him was enough to send him into anger overload.

"So what?" He snapped, frustration escaping his lungs, "So what huh? It's not like you love him Starfire! You're lying to me, you're lying to him and you're lying to yourself."

She began to speak and put her hands up once more, "No-"

"Goddamn it Starfire! Why can't you just admit that you want me as much as I want you? Huh? What's so wrong with that?"

"Must I tell you again? I am _betrothed_ Robin."

"That means nothing."

"Why?"

"Because if that mattered, you would have stopped me from removing your ring. Because if it mattered, you would have kicked me out already." Robin said plainly, relishing in delight when Starfire gaped at him with no words able to form in her mouth.

TTTTT

After the meeting with Cyborg and Beast Boy, Raven was intent on walking home. She was intent on arriving at her apartment, changing into her pajamas and curling into bed with a book. Yet she'd ended up at the steps leading to Beast Boy and Cyborg's home. She knew Cyborg was still at his shop working on a few cars and the light in the correct window indicated Beast Boy was there. She didn't know why she'd ended up here, but as her legs took her there, her mind frivolously attempted to come up with plausible excuses as to why she was stopping by.

Raven sighed and walked up the stairs, her heart gradually punching at her chest as she crossed the hallway and neared the door. She readjusted her black tank top and knocked on the door.

However, that knock unleashed a tornado of insecurities.

_Oh Damn. What the hell are you doing Raven?_

She blushed and quickly turned on her heel, hoping to escape before the door opened.

She was halfway down the hall when the dreaded click and creak of a door sounded behind her. Raven kept walking, hoping it was a figment of her imagination.

A soft, surprised voice stopped her, "Raven?"

She abruptly came to a stop and hesitantly turned around. She cleared her throat, "Er..hi."

_Hi? Hi? My God woman, your rhetoric is a failure._

Beast Boy stepped out into the hallway, leaning against the door and crossing his arms.

"What are you doing here?" he asked, his brows knit together and an uncharacteristically serious tone drenching his voice.

Raven began walking towards him again, rattling her brain for the lame excuses she'd prepared, "I..erm..I thought-"

"Cyborg and Robin aren't here." He interrupted her, then he rolled his eyes and his green eyes bore into hers. "Though, I guess I should just said Robin isn't here to get you to leave. Sorry." He turned and began closing the door.

Raven launched herself and put her hand in front of it, "Beast Boy. Wait, you..you didn't seriously believe what that blonde dim-wit said, did you?"

He turned around and raised an eyebrow to her, "Well I probably should have seen it coming. Considering how chummy you and old Rob are. Hey who's gonna tell Star? Huh. Here we all thought it was Kitten that she'd have to look out for. Apparently it was _you."_

Sarcasm and venom was the only thing Raven registered in his last few words. She gaped at him. But it was after a moment of silence that she sensed a tinge of hidden sadness within him. Angry at his implications, Raven snapped, "Garfield, you stop."

Beast Boy raised an eyebrow. She never called him by his real name. "Stop what?"

"Your ridiculous..stupid.." Raven stepped forward with every word, "and plain vacuous insinuations."

"Wh-"

"No. Do you seriously think I'm _with_ Robin. _Robin."_ Raven spat, pleased at his sheepish expression.

"That's what that girl said. And you know what?" he perked up, leaning into her. "You didn't even deny it!"

"I didn't think I had to."

"Oh..So..there's nothing going on between you and..Robin?"

Raven smirked, "Why? Do you care?"

Beast Boy's eyes widened, he blushed and shook his head.

Raven asked tentatively, "No?"

"No."

"Liar."

Beast Boy laughed nervously, "Rae what's your problem?"

"My problem, Beast Boy, is that you..youengage in such teasing banter with me and then get immensely _jealous when-"_

"I wasn't j-"

"Yes. Jealous when you think I'm with some other guy and yet, yet you don't even try to be the guy that's with me. I don't understand you, you weird weird man."

Raven sighed and rubbed her eyes. She would never have said those things to him if she wasn't so annoyed by his willing impotence. She turned and began walking towards the door, "I need to get my emotions under control. Bye Garfield. I don't think we'll be talking for a while."

Raven bit her lip, she felt her eyes begin to tear and she refused to cry until she was at least 1200 kilometers away.

"Raven no!" Beast Boy launched himself at her, and grabbed her arm, turning her around. Without processing his next few actions, he pulled her in, gripping her waist and ignoring her futile protests, he brought their lips crashing together in a frenzy of bursting fervor.


	14. Chapter 13

**You know, I've never really been one for drama. Neither the genre nor the..er..real life drama. But hey I got a taste of writing it in this story. I admit, I kinda prefer romance and comedy and action to it lol Oh well! I said I was determined to finish this story as best as possible so that's what I'm doin!**

**Next Chapter up, hope you enjoy. Ooh. Disclaimer right right.**

**Disclaimer: Do not own Teen Titans. Much to my dismay.  
**

Chapter 13

"Starfire?" Robin asked softly. She'd been staring out the window, with her arms crossed and her head against the frame, for the past 10 minutes, refusing to say a thing to him. She'd been silent. She hadn't even tried to kick him out. Robin sighed and made his way over to her. He put his hand on her shoulder and felt her tense up. He gently turned her around so she was facing him once more. He held his hand out; in his palm was the ring he'd thrown out an hour before.

"I'm sorry." he managed. She just stared at him, "I'm sorry, it's not my place to..to try and tell you how you feel or order you around or anything. Here, this is yours."

Starfire didn't take the ring. She simple glared him with her eyes welling up once more with tears, "Why Robin?"

He was confused, "Wh-why what?"

"Why now? Why must you come back into my life now? Do...you still retain strong feelings for me?" she mumbled. Her voice faltered and she sighed, covering her eyes. She was exhausted.

Robin bit his lip and shifted from foot to foot. He'd never been good at telling how he felt. Or even deciphering how he felt. Starfire shook her head and took the ring out of his palm, she began walking towards the door, "I should have known you would never speak to me of your emotions Robin."

He grabbed her arm and looked her in the eyes, "Starfire you know this is hard for me. But..I'm willing to try. I can't promise it's what you want to hear." She nodded and waited.

"I..I don't regret leaving all those years ago."

She narrowed her eyes and snatched her hand away.  
"No Starfire listen. Please. I loved you then and the opportunity that was given to _was_ once in a lifetime. But I do regret not..not begging you to come with me. I regret staying for so long. I regret giving up on us.." Robin's heart was beating louder than ever. Starfire continued looking away; he saw her breathing in and out regularly.

He continued, "Every single day for the past five years, I've thought about you constantly Star. You're completely ingrained in my head; your laughter, your giggles and hugs and kisses, all of it. I missed it. And when I saw Raven and she told me you were here, I just..I just couldn't believe it. And I thought I had a chance. But..then I found out you were engaged. Starfire I'm not gonna lie to you. I want to be in Jake's place. _I _want to be the one you spend the rest of your life with. ME. Star.."

She looked up at him and her heart swelled with a simultaneous mix of joy and sadness, "Robin.."

"No. I..I need to ask you this. If I don't, I'll regret it forever." Robin grabbed her left hand once more and kissed it. He gently took the ring off again and placed it on the coffee table behind him, he breathed in deeply and hoped his voice wouldn't crack, "Starfire, I love you..so much. Please don't think of anyone else when you consider this, please baby. Just think of your own feelings, and if after you do that the answer is still no, I'll leave it alone. I'll truly be only your friend."

She glared at him and nodded, she stopped breathing, "What is it Robin?"

He sighed nervously and met her eyes, "Marry me instead. I know..I know how pathetic that sounds, I know how stupid and potentially psychotic I'm being-"

"I accept."

Robin's eyes bulged to impossible parameters, he felt as if he was going to have the most wonderful heart attack ever recorded, "What!"

Starfire giggled nervously, "I accept." She repeated.

Robin stood up straight and grabbed her shoulders gently, he hadn't blinked. He held his breath, "Wh..are you..but what about Jake?"

Starfire shook her head and slid her hands to Robin's waist. She smiled, "I did what you told me. I thought of myself. Of my feelings. And my feelings for you were clearly victorious."

Robin laughed, "You..Does this mean you're not marrying Jake?"

"Mm-mm. As I understand, the 'deal' was I marry you instead no?" Starfire asked cheekily.

Robin nodded, his head swimming with a million thoughts at once, "Yes Star yes. I..I never want us apart again."

Starfire began to speak, but Robin cut her off, smiling and planting his lips on hers, she squeaked and wrapped her arms around him. Their lips brushed together, softly at first. Tasting and nipping after years of dormant desire. However, the initial passion and yearning they shared came back the second their lips connected. After shy nibbles, Robin couldn't help but deepen the kiss, sliding his tongue in her mouth, in desperate search of hers. Starfire eagerly responded, pulling at his hair and urging him closer. A small moan of happiness slipped out of Robin's mouth as he pushed her against the wall, roaming from her waist to her back, exploring after years of missed touches.

Starfire pulled away, gazing at Robin through half lidded eyes, breathing heavily, "Robin..Robin we cannot. I am still compromised to another and in order for us to continue this, I must break the relationship properly, please. We must stop. I fear I will not be able to if we continue further."

Robin nodded dreamily, he rested his head in the crook of her neck, still dazed by the events of the night.

Starfire groaned and hugged him tight, "I must speak to Jake first thing tomorrow when he returns."

Robin's head shot up, "Starfire I hate to ruin the moment and..I don't know how you'll react, but after all this, I have something to tell you..."

TTTTT

Raven pushed him away, shouting, "What do you think you're _doing!"_

Beast Boy took a minute to recover, he looked up to see her gazing at him with lusty, terrified eyes, "Me? Hey you kissed me back!"

Raven blushed, "No I didn't!"

"Oh right, like that was my own tongue rubbing all up on me!"

Raven crossed her arms, "No. I have to go."

"No you don't!" he stepped towards her, taking her by the waist firmly. Raven felt a simmering heat pool in her belly. "You were asking for it and you know it Rae. Now the question is: Are you gonna let me do it again?"

She bit her lip and put her hands up against his chest, "Why should I?"

"Because..I'm such an awesome kisser?"

Raven rolled her eyes, "Right."

Beast Boy sighed, touching her cheek, "Don't throw me out a window Rae, but it's about time I said this."

"Said..what?"

"I like you. A lot." he mumbled, looking at her with his green adorable eyes, a blush creeping up his cheeks.

Raven was never one for showing much excitement, but she felt as if she could full out giggle at that, "You like me."

Beast Boy nodded and smirked, "I think you're damn sexy too."

Raven smiled and swatted his arm, "Is this some surprisingly well thought out scheme to get in my pants?"

"No. Although that's just fine!"

"Stop talking."

"Start kissing." He grinned before leaning down and brushing his lips against hers once more before any unnecessary complaint.

"I do not understand. Then Jake, he is evil? He is really this Stanley?" Starfire asked.

Robin sat next to her on the couch and placed a hand on her knee. "Yeah Star. I..didn't really plan on ambushing you with this. Then again I didn't really plan for the night to turn out like this."

Starfire frowned and placed her hand over Robin's. "Why? Did you not trust me?"

Robin shook his head rapidly, "No no. It's not that at all. I just..didn't think you'd believe me. Everyone said you wouldn't without proof."

"You have always had my complete trust Robin. I would not have doubted you then and I do not doubt you now. I am..however frightened that I have been cavorting around with murderer!"

"Star..it's okay c'mere." Robin wrapped his arms around her, "Look we'll find some concrete proof on this guy. Cyborg's working on that right now. Everything ties together, it's just that one bit of proof they can use for a conviction. Just promise you won't go near him again after you end things? I need you safe Starfire."

She nodded, "I promise. I am more than capable of taking care of myself you know Robin."

He smirked, "Yeah, but I can't help it."

"Robin?"

"Hmm?"

Starfire leaned up and placed a loving, chaste kiss near his lips, "I do love you too.."

* * *

**I have a potential new story I already starting writing, but I'm not sure when I should publish it, considering I'm not yet done with this one _and_ I'm not sure how the updates would go. But I'm soooo antsy to post, so be on the look-out (;**

**review please :D  
**


	15. Chapter 14

_Alright. FINALLY. Got through to my story. I'm very irritated and relieved. Hope they fix this strange strange glitch soon._

Chapter 14

"Star.." Robin whispered, his voice hoarse. The trickling light from the open window graced his face and had woken him up. He looked down to see Starfire asleep on his shoulder. They were both still on the couch. He tried again, shaking her slightly, "Star..wake up.."

She grumbled, and her head lolled to from side to side, "Hmm?"

"We fell asleep baby." Robin whispered in her ear, planting a kiss on her temple.

She stirred and opened her eyes, smiling when she saw him, "Good morning.."

"Hey...sleep alright?"

She sat up and begun stretching, "Mmm..wonderful."

Robin smiled at her back, her shape. He smiled at last night's events.

A knock at the door snapped him out of it. A muffled voice seeped through the door, "Kori? Sweetheart it's me."

"Shit." he murmured.

Starfire turned to Robin, a fearful expression on her face. She whispered, "Robin.. It is Jake! Or..Stanley! He was supposed to return today! Oh _X'hal_ you are not supposed to be here, you are..and he is..I must end this properly. I am not ready!"

Robin grabbed her shoulders gently, "Starfire, it's okay. Look I'll just go in your room until you talk to Jake. It's not like I can scale down the side of a building now. Just relax, I'll be right here if you need anything."

She shook her head. "I must do this alone Robin. Come with me."

Starfire grabbed his hand and escorted him out to the balcony, she looked around to see if there was anyone else paying attention.

"Star? What are you doi-"

He was interrupted by Starfire taking him under the arms and flying directly to the parking lot. She said Robin down, gave him a half smile nad caressed his cheek, "We shall talk later Robin."

Robin stood there in shock, he didn't want to leave. He needed to be there in case Starfire needed him. He cursed and drew out his phone.

"Mmm..Rae you're so yummy." Beast Boy whispered as he nuzzled his head in Raven's neck.

"Uh. What are you doing?"

"Sniffing your neck." He stated.

Raven raised an eyebrow and leaned back on the couch, "I can't believe you talked me into staying the night here."

Beast Boy smirked, "I just didn't wanna wait an extra 8 hours for another one of your kisses."

Raven rolled her eyes and traced Beast Boy's forearm, his arms were around her and she didn't mind one bit.

"Well I guess I should be thankful that Cyborg didn't come home and interrupt us. Think he's still at his shop?"

Beast Boy shrugged and buried his face into Raven's neck once more, muffled, he said, "I wouldn't be surprised, he falls asleep there more times than I can count."

Raven the blanket tighter around them, "We're in a very compromising position."

"So? I'm not complaining." Beast Boy laughed.

"I can tell. Well I guess it's not so bad."

"What's not so bad?"

Raven looked up at him and caressed his cheek momentarily, "Liking this so much."

Beast Boy smiled and leaned down to kiss her, when the front door swung open and an excited Cyborg plummetted in, flailing a folder around.

"Holy shit guys! You're not gonna believe it! We were wrong! I-" He stopped and raised an eyebrow, watching Beast Boy leaning over to kiss Raven, both of them under a blanket. "Okay we're so talkin' about this later. In great detail. But we were wrong! Jake isn't Jake OR Stanley! We need to get Robin and Starfire stat."

Raven sat up immediately, "What? Why?"

Cyborg shook his head, "Let's call Robin first, I'd rather tell you all together. Think he made up with Star yet?"

Beast Boy was about to speak when his phone began buzzing, he pulled it out of his pocked, "Well speak of the devil."

TTTTT

Starfire quickly flew back inside and to the door. She smoothed her shirt and opened the door.

Jake stood before her with a bouquet of orchids in his hands, "Hello Kori. It's nice to see you."

Starfire crossed her arms, she met his eyes and spoke, trying hard not to let him hear the fear in her voice, "Hello Jake. I must speak to you. It is urgent. Please come inside."

She turned around and walked towards the couch, sitting down and waiting for him to follow her. He did, he put the bouquet down on the table and eyed her curiously. "Babe what is it?"

Starfire took a deep breath, "Jake..I cannot marry you."

There was a hitch in his step as he walked towards her, his voice cold, "Oh really?"

Starfire looked away, "I cannot. It would be unfair to you. I will not spend my life with someone I do not truly love. And I am sorry If I hurt you."

Jake stood before her, his hands on his hips. There was a small smirk planted on his face, "Oh dear. I really don't give a damn if you don't marry me. Things will just have to occur earlier than planned"

Starfire looked up, shocked, "What do you mean?"

Jake spoke in a dry, calculating voice, "You truly are a silly girl."

Starfire watched him carefully, he pulled out a small metal device from his pocket. It was shiny, streaked with dark orange stripes. There was a button. He graced his thumb along it, catching Starfire's eye, he smiled. He pushed it.

Starfire screamed and fell to her knees, a wrenching pain formulated in her stomach and quickly spreading to her other regions. She cried out and felt her body tense and pulsate. Her eyes were shut closed. The pain increased and she opened her eyes, and looked to her hands. They were a tint of red-orange with what looked to be moving globs. They covered her entire body she realized. She looked up, catching Jake smiling at her. Before she passed out, she heard his words.

"Who knew Dad's toys were so much fun?"

* * *

Heh. WHO COULD IT BE XD


	16. Chapter 15

_Alright, I'm very glad to say this story will be wrapped up in about two or three more chapters. Which means I can probably update mah new story :D_

_Soon._

_Maybe._

_Heck. Maybe even tonight (; still haven't decided. I should be studying for test. But oh wells. I think I'm allowed to fail just once :P_

_Heh. Enjoy! And yes, to all those that guessed Slade's son, here is your answer!  
_

Chapter 15

"What? What is it? I got here as soon as I could." Robin panted, crashing through the door of Cyborg and Beast Boy's apartment. Cyborg, Beast Boy and Raven were gathered around the coffee table.

Beast Boy whined and motioned Robin over, "Duude! Okay Robin's here. Now tell us."

Cyborg nodded and pulled out his folder, "You were wrong Robin. Stanley Pencher's dead."

"What?" Robin gasped as he sat down next to Beast Boy.

Cyborg rubbed his temples, "Jake, he killed Lissie. He did, but he managed to escape. It wasn't until a year later he was found wandering the New York City streets, mumbling to himself. Since then he was admitted to a mental hospital, and they never got his full name. He'd have occasional moments where he would seem sane and calm, but he would occasionally snap and try to violently attack the nurses and doctors. I called the hospital. They confirmed everything."

"Okay..So who is he then?"

Cyborg shook his head, "This shocked me to death y'all. I can't even..Look about two years ago, there was a breakout. And Jake escaped. But he didn't do it alone."

Raven spoke up, "Then who helped him? And what for?"

Cyborg looked up at his friends, "Slade."

There was a collective gasp. Robin stood up, "He's..working for Slade."

"Yeah. He 'adopted' Jake and he's been training him ever since. For what. I don't know, but we gotta go pick up our Star before he gets to-"

"Shit!" Robin yelled running towards the door, "I was just there! I..I was with her all night! Jake's knocking woke us up this morning and she was gonna break up with him! Dammit I just left her there!"

Raven, Beast Boy and Cyborg looked at each other and ran after him. Raven skid to a stop. "Wait. You guys drive. I'll phase there and check it out."

"Wait Rae-" Beast Boy tried to stop her, but she disappeared.

"Dammit. We better hurry."

TTTTT

"Starfire?" Raven called as she appeared in Starfire's living room. She ran to the bedroom and checked the bathrooms. When she ran back to the living room, something caught her eye near the couch.

"Oh Azerath..." she mumbled as she gazed upon the puddle of fresh blood. Raven closed her eyes and tried to see if she could sense Starfire anywhere nearby. There was nothing.

"STARFIRE? Star!" Robin came bursting in, Cyborg and Beast Boy right behind him. He came up to Raven. "Did you find her? Is she he-"

He was cut off by the sight of blood, "Oh God Star. We have to find her. She's hurt. She's hurt and it's all my fault. Shit."

"Robin stop."

Beast Boy looked around, his green skin pale, "I don't understand. Star's so strong. And her bolts and eye beams and stuff. How could he have taken her?"

Robin placed his hands on his waist and studied the room. He sighed and tried to control himself, a sense of leadership enthralling him once more.

"I don't know. But he must have subdued her some how. I don't think Starfire's nervous system responds to the drugs we have here so it probably wasn't that. Dammit, how do we find her.."

Cyborg's face lit up, "We track her!"

Robin's head snapped towards him, he barked "How? Speak!"

Cyborg frowned, "Calm down man. Look remember when we formed the Titans? The tracking devices we installed by pricking our fingers? That has to be useful still! We can go to the Tower and activate Starfire's, hopefully it hasn't worked its way out of her system yet.

Robin nodded, "Let's hurry."

TTTTT

Starfire's head lolled back and forth, as she regained consciousness, she began to recall the events that had brought her here. She attempted to grasp her head to stop it from pounding, but she found that her wrist were restrained.

She pulled harder at the steel grip, unable to even shake it. Her Tamaranian strength should have pulverized it. She tried to wiggle her feet, but her calves were also restrained, she was sitting on a cold surface she realized.

"Do you like your special chair my love?"

Starfire stopped. She became still, her eyes searching the dark room. "Who is there?" She demanded.

There were footsteps.

Starfire began to conjure starbolts in her hand when she felt it; a familiar searing pain crashed over her, slowly making it harder for her to breathe, tortuously slowly. Then it stopped.

"Tsk tsk. Now, babe, be a good girl and don't use those silly powers of yours. They're just going to irk me."

Starfire caught her breath, she began to recover. And then she remembered, she remembered it all.

"Jake." she whispered, staring into the darkness, her skin still prickling.

More footsteps. The voice came from directly behind her now, "Jake. Yes I guess you can call me that for now."

"Don't worry, my apprentice. We'll find you a better suited name after we're done."

Starfire froze. She recognized the second voice. She growled, "Slade."

He stepped out in front of her and flicked on the lights, they momentarily impaired her vision, "You catch on quick."

"What is that you want? What do you have to do with Jake?" she demanded, moving and squirming around once more.

"He is my son. Did that happen to slip his mind when you were together?" Slade stated dryly, moving closer towards the detained Starfire. "You are the key, you know that?"

"The what?"

"The key, the key to destroying that wretched bird of yours." Slade spoke coldly.

Starfire gasped. Robin, it was Robin who they wanted to hurt. She tried lying, "I don't know who you are talking about. I have not made an acquaintance of the Teen Titans for years-"

A gloved hand gripped her hair and tugged her backwards. "Don't bullshit my father sweetheart."

"Your _father?" _she asked incredulously.

"He's right Starfire. Don't. I know Robin is on his way to save you right this minute. He will find you, like he always does. He'll have the little rag tag team of yours, and when he gets here do you know what's gonna happen?"

Silence. Starfire looked away, desperately trying to find a way to escape, or at least warn her friends to stay far away. She could take Slade. She knew she could.

Slade gripped her chin and came face to face with her, "Dear old Robin is going to watch you die. Then he'll be dead inside as well. And I will kill his body after I cripple his soul. And you, you are the key."

"No!" Starfire struggled and her hands began to glow. But the pain came back. She let out an excruciating yell, and the room became blurry once more. She felt it, she felt like she was going to pass out. Once more, it stopped.

Weakly, Starfire asked, "What are you doing to me?"

Slade chuckled briefly, "Let's go back in time Starfire. Do you recall my _humble _attempt to make your Robin my apprentice?"

She nodded weakly.

"Do you recall the deadly probes I installed in your friends bodies? And yours?"

Starfire gasped, "No! You did not! And even if you did so, I swear to you I will find a way around them you evil fiend!"

"Now now, Starfire you're not letting me finish. See, those probes, while ingenious, were flawed. Well I've fixed the flaw. You are the only infected one. And if Jake presses that little button to activate the pains, you will be dead within minutes. Your body will implode on itself and the only way to remove it is to drain you of your blood. Now be a good girl and stop struggling."

Tears stung Starfire's eyes. She felt so helpless. She hung her head and desperately tried to think, even if she had to die, she had to make sure neither her friends nor Robin were hurt.


	17. Chapter 16

_Hey guys, next chapter will most likely be the last. Hope you enjoy this one. Oh! and I posted my new story, _**Sweet Disposition_, _**_if you'd like to take a look, ahem it's right on my profile under mah stories, for easy access. I'd like to hear what you guys think. It's another Rob/Star one and my first story that'll revolve partly around BB/Raven as well._

_Well on with the story!  
_

Chapter 16

"Did you find her?"

"Not yet man hold on."

"Hurry up!" Robin roared. He had changed into his old uniform. They all had. But the circumstances didn't make for a great reunion, not with their most important member missing.

Beast Boy sat indian style on the couch next to Raven, he tucked his head into her neck and mumbled, "I can't believe the Tower's still functional."

After a few minutes of tense silence, a bleep on the screen snapped their heads to attention.

"Yes it still works!" Cyborg yelled triumphantly. Robin ran next to him, looking up at the screen intently.

"Where?"

"Abandoned warehouse, near the bridge."

"Let's go."

TTTTT

Starfire groaned. Slade and Jake were a few feet away hovering over a small computer screen. They stole glances at her, still strapped to her chair. Starfire tried not to focus on the potential pain if she tried to move too much, she simply tried to escape. Keeping her eye on the two men in front of her, Starfire carefully rotated her forearm slowly; her wrist was restrained, but the metal restraint still gave her enough room to wiggle around. She sighed and waited patiently. Her wrist and hands began getting sweaty, making it easy for her to slip through. If only she got her hands free, a lightning fast, strategically placed starbolt against both Slade and Jake and she'd have a chance to grab pain infusing detonator for herself. Then she could at least warn her friends to stay away. Somehow.

But she didn't get the chance. There was thump against a nearby wall. There was a louder thump. Then a crash and she heard them. Scrambling over broken wood, leaping against walls. Starfire struggled and managed to get her right hand free, breathing heavily, she began pulling harshly at her left, desperately trying to become free. She'd worry about her feet later.

"Starfire?" a chorus of voices called out, Robin's the most desperate one.

"Oh no." Starfire scanned the room for Slade and Jake; there was no sign of either of them. She didn't know if she should call for help. She was hidden in the back of the room, she had a slight view of her friends scrambling and searching the premises. Maybe finding her would be a trap. She continued staying quiet and pulling her left hand slowly out.

"STARFIRE?" Robin called out; he was getting closer to her. Starfire bit her lip. She was almost there. Almost free. Her scrunched up hand wiggled its way out, finally. Starfire sighed, rubbing her wrists, relieved. She looked around, able to make out a few shapes in the darkness. Maybe Slade and Jake had fled.

Starfire grabbed onto the restraints that held her ankles against the chair. She took a deep breath and pulled, easily freeing herself.

Starfire stood up, ready to fly out to her friends, when the darkness stopped and blinding lights erupted. She shielded her eyes momentarily and a hand grabbed her around the waist, tugging her into a male form behind her.

"Quiet." Jake commanded. Starfire urged to struggle and fight back, but she was uncertain what the consequences would be for her or her friends if she did. She stifled her cries. Her friends were looking around, ready to attack.

Jake pushed her and she came to stop in front of them. Robin was angry and she could feel the worry radiating off him.

"Let her go." he growled.

From behind Jake, Starfire heard footsteps. She saw Robin's face twitch.

"Well well. The Teen Titans. Long time no see. I guess you're not exactly _teens _anymore though. I suggest you change the name." Slade spoke callously, stopping next to Jake clutching Starfire.

Robin shifted his stance, "Let her go Slade. Or like always, we'll be doing this the hard way."

Slade made a small noise of disapproval and pulled the small orange device casually from behind his back. Starfire made eye contact with Robin, with the blink of an eye and a twitch of his lips, he tried to communicate to her she'd be okay. However, Starfire knew what was coming. She knew she would not be okay. She looked away and waited, trying to somehow find a way to save her friends, her family.

Slade continued talking, "You see Robin, I'm going to eradicate your heart today. And I'm going to do it with her."

Robin's heart sped up, he braced himself to attack, but Slade held up the small orange device.

"Say good bye to your little lover, because she, she will be nothing but a limp sack of flesh exactly five minutes from.._now."_ Slade pushed the button and Starfire glowed orange, her heart pounded wildly and her head felt as if it would explode. Her knees gave out and from a distance she heard a desperate chorus chanting her name. With her vision blurred, she saw her friends attack. Jake dropped her to the floor. Her arms weakened and she could do nothing but lay limp on the floor, her body pulsing with pain, agonizing scorches of hurt rumbling through her. He'd said five minutes. But she was not normal. She may still die, but it would take longer than that. She sensed her body shutting down. Out of the corner of her eyes, she saw Robin falling. He was trying to get to Slade, but he was too preoccupied with Starfire. More than once, he'd tried to come to her aid, but Jake and Slade both double teamed her. Beast Boy was attacking as well, but he seemed distracted. It took Starfire a few seconds to recognize Raven against a wall, out cold. Cyborg was the only one who seemed to be fighting with vigor, anger coursed through him and he helped Robin take on both Jake and Slade, both skilled fighters with bombs and tricks up their sleeves.

Starfire tried to disappear within her own mind. She felt them. The probes. She felt each one coursing through her body, like small beetles in her bloodstream. It might have been her Tamaranian instinct, but she knew there was only one way to rid herself of these, to help her friends.

Robin shoved Slade back, kicking him against the side of his head, he staggered but continued at Robin. He grabbed the bo staff and shoved Robin against the wall, "She's probably already dead Robin. See? Look at her. Look. She's not moving. She's already dead and soon you will be too."

Robin growled and refused to look at Starfire's fallen form. He had to incapacitate Slade. He had to get to her. He had to save her. He kneed Slade in the stomach, and launched his fist against his face, cracking his mask. Slade staggered once more and Robin seized the opportunity to kick him twice against the head and slammed his back with his bo staff. He fell. Momentarily. Once he began to stand back up, Cyborg came to his aid and body slammed Slade into the ground, quickly slipping dual cuffs on his wrists and legs, aiming his weapon at his face.

"Don't you _dare _move." Cyborg seethed, hoping Robin could get to Starfire, past Jake.

Robin nodded at Cyborg and looked around, running to Starfire. Jake began running at him from behind and he turned around, delivering a round house kick to his jaw. Though Slade's new apprentice, Jake was easily shaken. Robin punched him in the stomach and dispensed his grappling hook, impairing Jake. However, he held up the orange device and crushed it, smiling sinisterly, "She's done for. Soon you'll be too."

"Beast Boy! Get him!" he yelled as he continued making his way towards Starfire.

"Star..Star.." he kneeled against her and shook her shoulders slowly. His heart stopped when he realized how still she was. She was a faint shade of glowing orange. Robin checked her pulse and nearly cried when he didn't feel anything. "Star? Baby _please.."_

Starfire heard him. She heard his distant, garbled voice. She was far too deep withing herself to move. She couldn't. She sensed the probes within her. Wandering around, attempting to destroy her body. She realized something; if she could concentrate her energy on the alien mechanisms withing her body, she could be able to destroy them, but she may end up destroying herself in the process.

She felt her friends crowd around her, shaking her, pleading at her. She heard harsh distant laughter. Robin's face was against her own, mourning.

Starfire decided to try, she had to try to live.

Focusing all her energy, she targeted the deviants within her; the orange glow faded and she began to glow green. Her entire body was illuminated in a pale green light. It was working. They were slowly vaporizing, one by one. Starfire's heart began pounding harder, her energy was dispelling the foreign probes from her body. She felt their presence fading, the pain subsiding. After a few moments, she could no longer sense them. She could no longer hear pain. But her heart didn't slow. The pain turned into exhaustion and Starfire could no longer hold her energy. Although the probes seemed to be gone, she couldn't force her heart to return to normal. Then it stopped. It stopped altogether and she began fading.

Robin sensed a change in. Panic flooded his mind, he shook her vehemently, "Starfire!"


	18. Chapter 17

**Hey guys! Oh so sorry the last chapter took so long. Massive writer's block, technical difficulties and laziness does not make for a productive me.**

**Well here it is, the finale. Hope you enjoy it.  
**

Chapter 17

Robin rested his head against Starfire's chest. There was nothing. There was no heartbeat, no intake of breath, no sign of life within her. A quiet sob escaped him as Raven shoved him off her and placed her hands on Starfire's chest.

Looking over at Robin, she spoke quietly, "Don't you dare interfere Robin."

He nodded and choked out, "Can you save her?"

Raven's hands melted into Starfire's depleted form, "I honestly don't know. The probes, whatever it was that was hurting her, that's gone. Her body's fine, but it's her soul. Her soul and her energy are one, and when one fades, the other goes with it. Her energy's dying."

Robin shot up, "No! Save her! Do it! Please Raven!"

Raven glared at him, "Stop it, I'll do whatever I can Robin. She's not important to JUST you!"

Robin bit his knuckle and grabbed Starfire's limp hand. He stayed quiet. Beast Boy and Cyborg held onto him, in case the need to support him should arise. Raven took a deep breath and began mumbling, "Azerath...Metrion..._Zinthos!"_

Raven's hands glowed with dark energy; Starfire's body convulsed. The dark tendrils dripping from Raven's hands began sliding into Starfire's chest, hiding within her body. Raven's eyes glowed white, Starfire's shot open and glowed green. Robin nearly jumped towards her responding body, but he was held back by Cyborg and Beast Boy.

"Let it happen man. Let it." Cyborg whispered, his eyes fixed on Starfire.

Raven began pulling at Starfire's dimming energy, it had been on the verge of disappearing and taking her soul with her, but luckily her magic had connected with it.

A bead of sweat dropped down Raven's temple and trickled down her cheek, she whispered, "I have her."

Starfire's body convulsed and she lay still. Raven fell back against the floor panting, while Beast Boy ran to her side to support her. Robin crawled away from Cyborg's slackened grip and grasped Starfire's limp hand. He rested his head against Starfire's chest, relief flooding him as he felt the slight rise and fall.

"She's resting. Her body's been used to it's limit. Give her time Robin. She'll wake up when her energy's restored." Raven said, feeling Starfire's forehead.

Robin nodded slowly. He sat up sharply. "Slade! And Jake!"

He turned around to find Slade gone, but Jake passed out on the ground, still tied up. Robin sighed, "He's gone. Slade."

Cyborg grasped his shoulder, "We'll find him man. We always do. For now, let's get Jake back to the loony house and get our Starfire safe."

Robin nodded and ran back to Starfire's side, cradling her head in his hands. "Where to now? My place? Titans tower?"

"I think your place Robin. She'll be safe there." Raven said.

Robin nodded and looked at Raven, "Think you have enough energy to teleport us there? Or should we just take the car?"

Raven began to nod and step forward but Beast Boy stopped her, "Whoa. Rob look at her. She's super pale, Raven needs to re energize too. I think we should take the car."

Cyborg appeared with an unconscious Jake hauled over his left shoulder, "Alright I got this psycho."

Robin lifted Starfire up bridal style and began walking towards the car, listening intently for any sign of danger. He was sure of it; he was always gonna protect her.

TTTTT

It'd been two weeks since the Slade and Jake debacle; Robin had spent the hours going back and forth between paperwork for Jake, tracking Slade down, and the rest of his time was spent next to Starfire. She'd been resting in his bed, occasionally shifting positions, but other than that he hadn't had the pleasure of seeing her open her eyes as of yet. Cyborg, Beast Boy and Raven had been over multiple times to see her, to check up on Robin.

Robin had fallen asleep the previous night next to Starfire, stroking her hand softly. He lay sprawled out next to her, lightly snoring. She stirred, her small eyebrows twitching as she rolled over onto her side. Her eyes opened slightly, Robin's sleeping form was the first thing she saw. The next thing she realized was that she was in fact, still alive. A small gasp escaped her as she sat up rapidly. The motion caused a slight dizziness that made her lay back down, her head thumping on the pillow. Robin woke abruptly, he sat up and grinned when he saw his Starfire awake.

"Starfire!" he sat up on his knees, grabbing her hands in his, "Are you okay? How are you feelings? Should I call Raven?"

Starfire smiled weakly, "I am fine Robin. I simply..I do not recall what happened. All that I can remember is Jake. And Slade... and the probes."

Robin shook his head, "They're gone Star. All of them. You're fine. I promise."

Starfire frowned, "And Jake? And Slade? Our friends?"

"Jake's locked up, Slade seems to have disappeared off the map. And Everyone's fine."

"You are fine as well?"

Robin scooted closer to her, "I was just worried. I thought I was gonna lose you."

Starfire groaned and pulled Robin down towards the bed with her, "You did not lose me. We are..okay..correct?"

Robin rested his head against her chest, "I know. I know baby. I'm so glad."

They lay there for a few moments, in quiet gratitude, when Starfire broke the silence, "Robin?"

"Yeah Star?"

"Do you recall the question you asked me before I was..taken?"

Robin sat up, withholding a smile, "I do."

"Does...does the offer remain on the table?"

Robin laughed and leaned down to capture Starfire's lips in a long, happy kiss. "Star, you still wanna marry me?"

She giggled, "But of course."

"Then we'll get married baby."

Starfire launched off the bed, wrapping her arms around joyfully around Robin.

TTTTT

"Rae?"

"Hmm?"

"Think Star's gonna be okay?"

Raven rolled over wrapped a lazy arm over Beast Boy's chest. "She woke up. She and Robin are in the process of uh. 'Making up'."

Beast Boy chuckled, "Making out is more like it. Man, having a girlfriend who's an empath is so cool. You can tell what like EVERYONE is doing all the time."

Raven sat up, "Girl...friend?"

Beast Boy blushed, "Oh. Sorry."

She shook her head, "No, no Gar, it's..okay. I mean. I've never really had a..boyfriend ever before. Ever."

Beast Boy grinned, "So I can be your first? Maybe?"

"We still talking about the boyfriend?" Raven smiled slyly

Beast Boy leaned down to kiss her, wrapping his arm around her waist and pulling her closer. "That's a different subject babe."

"Alright if y'all are gonna be smoochin in _my_ house than we gotta establish some ground rules."

TTTTT

"Must I wear such a conservative dress? It covers nearly every inch of me Robin!" Starfire sighed contently, lying in Robin's arms, flipping through a wedding magazine Raven had brought her. She, Beast Boy and Cyborg were visiting at Robin's home; Cyborg had volunteered to prepare dinner, even offering to whip something up using tofu, just for Beast Boy.

Raven sipped a cup of tea and leaned into Beast Boy on the opposite couch, "Well you should cover up somewhat Star. Don't wanna give Robin the WHOLE show before the honeymoon-"

"Honey_mooooon_!" Cyborg and Beast Boy chimed together, throwing Robin not so furtive, winks and looks. Robin sunk in his seat, hiding behind Starfire's hair.

"Seriously? Maybe reuniting the Titans isn't such a good idea."

"Hey!"

Robin chuckled and eyed Raven mischievously, "So Raven. When's YOUR wedding?"

Raven raised an eyebrow and Beast Boy watched her carefully, "When I feel like you dick."

"Pshh. That doesn't even qualify as an insult babe," Beast Boy teased, "You might as well said, 'you Robin'."

Raven rolled her eyes, "I'm gonna go help Cy set the table."

"Oh my _God_!" Beast Boy mumbled through a mouth full of tofu bits. "I have no idea what you did to this tofu bro. But it's soooo good!"

Cyborg chuckled and set his empty plate down, "You're welcome BB. I do expect payback."

Robin cleared his throat, "I have to ask you guys something. Well, propose something."

Starfire playfully said, "Propose? Robin you wish to marry Raven, Beast Boy and Cyborg as well?"

Raven stifled a chuckle and Beast Boy and Cyborg burst out into loud guffaws; Robin stuck his tongue out at his fiancee and proceeded, "No there's no way in hell Star. I think I can only handle one at a time. Anyway, I was thinking, what would you guys say if we...got the team back together? Slade's still out there and the city still has to deal with a bunch of creeps and it'd probably be a little-"

"Duude!" Beast Boy burst out, grinning, "I thought you'd never ask! I'm so in!"

Cyborg laughed, "Me too."

"Well I suppose if I marry you as my Richard, I'll have to cheat on you with Robin as well." Starfire teased.

Robin smiled and looked at the only silent one in the room, "What do you say Raven?"

Raven watched them all impassively, crossing her arms, "As long as we don't refer to ourselves as the _Teen _Titans."

Beast Boy threw his arms around her and smiled, "You got it babe!"

Robin and Starfire found each other and held hands, "We got a wedding to plan and a team to get back into Star. You up for that?"

She smiled and kissed his cheek, "I am up for anything as long as I have our friends, and you of course."

Cyborg watched the couples and frowned, "Damn. I need a girl."

* * *

**Alright, that's it. Although I got a little disillusioned, I'm glad I finished it. And now I'll just be concentrating on Hormonesand Sweet Disposition (new story i has that you all should totally check out XD) **

**Thanks for sticking with this!  
**


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